


till i catch you

by taehbaeh



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, I honestly dont even know i guess we'll have to wait and see, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu-centric, M/M, Mingyu honestly just wants to get to know him, Mingyu's whipped, Most/if not all svt members will probably appear at some point, Wonwoo is kind of closed off, Wonwoo will eventually have a soft spot for Mingyu, Wonwoo works at a retro diner, probably slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2019-10-11 19:28:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17452880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taehbaeh/pseuds/taehbaeh
Summary: Mingyu would've never thought getting someone to open up could be some damn hard. Wonwoo comes in and proves him just that.Or where fries taste awful and one night stands turn into something more.





	1. where were you in the morning, baby?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu figures college parties may not be that bad after all.

* * *

Mingyu wouldn't say he is one to thoroughly enjoy parties. Sure, he has been to more than a few, being a college student and all. But he usually chooses to avoid them (except for the times he's been force to attend by his friends who don't seem to take no for an answer). It's not that he's exactly socially awkward, per se. He'd just rather stay away from the loud music, the sweaty bodies rubbing against each other and all that  _fun_ that college parties include. He isn't much of a drinker either so he doesn't really see the point in attending.

But how is he supposed to avoid a party and stay in the comfort of his apartment when his  _apartment_ is where the party is being held? Sooyoung and Seokmin, Mingyu's roommates, just happen to _love_ social gatherings with a burning passion and even more so, hosting them. 

Mingyu curses his luck every goddamn day.

That basically concludes the backstory of why Mingyu is spread out on _his_ couch, in _his_ living room with an overwhelming amount of drunk college students partying around him. Mingyu knows he looks rather depressing in contrast to his overly-enthusiastic and overly-drunk friends who are _god knows where_ , doing _god knows what_.

He is probably a sad sight to the human eye but he didn't even sign up to be here so he's very much allowed to be grumpy. Mingyu already had the entire night planned out, wanting to finally finish that goddamn show he had been putting off for too long when Soonyoung intruded into his bedroom announcing that they were hosting a party followed by Seokmin screaming downstairs that they were short on time. Mingyu was prepared for a relaxing night by himself, having even bought snacks for himself and all. (which he's pretty sure he saw being devoured by a very drunk Hansol in the kitchen earlier)

His desperation gets to the point where he considers just getting shit drunk to kill the slow pace of this _god forsaken_ night but he knows the hangover the next morning will be anything but worth it. If he were in any other situation he'd just get up and go home except for the fact that he _is_ home. So he goes for the next best choice which is heading to the kitchen, crossing his fingers in the hopes that drunk Hansol is nice enough to leave him half a bag of chips at the very least.

He goes to the kitchen and his bad mood seems to make a 180 degree change when his gaze catches the sight of a unfamiliar guy standing by the kitchen counter, frowning as he looks through an empty bag of chips.

All Mingyu's mind can muster at the moment is  _damn, he's hot._ Mingyu isn't sure what makes him stand out. Maybe it's because of his sharp features. Or the hard look on his face that makes something in Mingyu's stomach turn. Or maybe it's just the fact that the dude manages to look hot as hell while frowning at a bag of _chips_.

The guy has jet black hair that contrasts perfectly against his pale skin and his black skinny jeans look like a pain to take off but Mingyu has never been one to turn down a good challenge.

With a new sense of determination to turn this awful night for the better, Mingyu tries to come up with a good and most importantly, an acceptable way to approach the handsome stranger because _hey. you're hot as fuck, wanna make out?_ doesn't quite make the cut.

He waits a bit, mentally preparing his lines as if he's in some highschool play and finally strides forward, determined not to let this night go to complete waste.

"I don't think there's anything in there." Mingyu chuckles and hot stranger looks up. "I'm Kim Mingyu and you look drunk enough to consume everything that is expired in this kitchen so consider this a nice gesture." Mingyu goes ahead and grabs the yoghurt that he remembers buying over a month ago from hot stranger's hand before throwing it away in the trash can.

Hot stranger seems intrigued by Mingyu's approach, if his lips quirking upwards is any indication, "Is that supposed to be a pick up line?" he asks and Mingyu notes his deep voice.

Mingyu thinks hot stranger must be pretty drunk if he considers Mingyu's approach to be anything close to a pick up line but he chuckles nonetheless.

"That's what I was going for but I feel like I could've come up with something better." 

"It's creative, I like it." hot stranger says, leaning a bit closer.  "Jeon Wonwoo, by the way." he introduces and Mingyu is glad he can stop reffering to him as hot stranger in his head before he accidentally blurts it out out loud.

"You look sober. Why aren't you drinking?" Jeon Wonwoo questions, squinting his eyes up at Mingyu.

Mingyu shrugs, "I choose not to. Hangovers are a pain in the ass and I'd rather remember everything I do." he says, quickly adding "and everyone I meet."

Wonwoo raises one eyebrow, lips pulling into a sly smile.

"That's a responsible thing to do." Wonwoo comments, raising his cup of alcohol to his lips, gulping the liquor down in one go. Mingyu chuckles at the irony, his eyes then glancing around the kitchen where empty snack bags are scattered everywhere.

Mingyu sulks at the sight. "I can't believe Hansol ate everything."

Wonwoo chuckles at that, "It's not that hard to believe. I pretty much saw him wipe out the entire buffet at last year's christmas party."

Mingyu parts his mouth wondering how he hadn't noticed Wonwoo because Mingyu _was_ at the christmas party that the student council had organized last year and he's sure, if Wonwoo looked anything close to how he looks now, Mingyu would've noticed. He also wonders if Wonwoo is a student at their university or if he's just a friend of a friend. He kind of wants to ask but he has already been kind of pushy to a complete stranger and he really doesn't want to come off too strong.

 

 

 

Turns out Mingyu shouldn't have worried about coming off too strong because not even an hour later Mingyu has him pushed against a wall and Wonwoo's hands are pushing through his hair and they're making out and it's _hot_. Wonwoo's fingers slide to his nape and Mingyu shivers at the contact. Normally he would've been embarassed to make out with someone so openly but everyone arounds seems to be too drunk to notice and Wonwoo is just way too hot for Mingyu to care right now.

Mingyu pulls away, catching his breath and Wonwoo uses the opportunity to take a swing from his refilled cup. Wonwoo notices Mingyu staring at him and he raises his cup towards the latter as if to offer some. Mingyu doesn't really consider it for more than a second when he wraps his hand around Wonwoo's where the latter is holding the cup and he brings it to his own lips, gulping down the entire thing.

He hears Wonwoo laugh. "I thought you wanted to remember everything in the morning."  

Mingyu briefly searches for the right way to say that Wonwoo's face would be kind of hard to forget either way.

He quickly decides on, "I don't think that'll be a problem."

Mingyu looks at Wonwoo's face, lips red and eyes dark and Mingyu just wants to kiss him again.

He kind of wants _more_.

"I have a room upstairs." Mingyu breathes against Wonwoo's mouth and the latter smiles at that.

"I like how that sounds." 

Mingyu takes the initiative and grabs Wonwoo's hand.

"Let's go." 

Mingyu strides through the house, obviously knowing it like the back of his hand, pulling Wonwoo along with him as they push through the crowd of people. He thinks he sees Seokmin shoot him a thumbs up from where he's standing near the beer pong table but doesn't give it much thought. 

They finally make it to Mingyu's room, having only stopped _twice_  to kiss while climbing the stairs. Mingyu lets Wonwoo enter his room first, making sure to lock after he follows him inside.

Wonwoo stops once he's entered and glances around, "That's a nice room you have-"

Mingyu pushes the other against the door,both arms holding him in place.

"We can talk about the nice interior of my room later." he says, lips inching dangerously close to Wonwoo's.

Wonwoo inches forward, brushing his lips teasingly against Mingyu's, "That we can."

Mingyu thinks he _cannot_ possibly handle the tension anymore and leans in rather eagerly to kiss Wonwoo again. The other kisses him back with much more force than before, swiping his tongue against Mingyu's lips and Mingyu gladly opens his mouth letting Wonwoo's tongue slip past.

In that moment, Mingyu can't think about anything other than Wonwoo's lips against his own or the way the other's cold fingers feel when they slip under his shirt. He can't even hear the obnoxiously loud music from downstairs anymore.

He thinks this _has_ to be the best make out he's had in a long time and he can't possibly imagine this getting any better.

 

 

 

Mingyu's once again proven wrong because his hands are roaming over Wonwoo's exposed torso, the latter tugging on his hair when Mingyu starts kissing his neck and the anticipation almost _hurts_. Wonwoo's scent sends him into a heady trance and the intoxication is instant. Wonwoo's black hair is messy, lips red and shiny and he's breathing heavily when Mingyu's lips come in contact with something cold. He pulls away and Wonwoo makes an unsatisfied sound.

MIngyu chuckles and looks at the silver chain around other's neck before snatching it off and throwing it onto the nightstand next to his bed.

Wonwoo leans onto his elbows raising one eyebrow, lips quirking upwards into a smirk.

MIngyu shrugs. "It was getting in the way." he says and Wonwoo lets out a chuckle.

"I'm sure it was." 

Mingyu lets out a breathy laugh before he's leaning in again, hands sliding under the sheets and lips meeting Wonwoo's for a night that he's sure he isn't going to forget that easily.

And he makes damn sure Wonwoo doesn't forget either.

 

 

 

 

Mingyu wakes up the next day, tired, naked and very much alone.

His eyes catch the time on the digital clock next to his bed.

_11:47am_

He stretches his limbs and catches himself searching around for some kind of piece of paper with a phone number laying around.He tries not to feel disappointed at the fact that there's nothing. He doesn't know why it bothers him. Maybe it's because Mingyu's usually the one who leaves in the morning and not the other way around.

And then he realizes that Wonwoo probably didn't leave his phone number because he didn't _want_ to. And somehow that makes Mingyu feel worse. It hurts his pride and he wonders if Wonwoo even remembers anything that they did or if it was just a case of waking up next to a total stranger and freaking out because you can't recall anything that happened.

He pouts at that, like the sulky adult that he is and gets out of bed with the purpose of washing up just as the door to his bedroom swings open followed by an obnoxious shriek.

Mingyu turns around in panic, meeting Soonyoung's seemingly traumatized eyes.

Mingyu makes a poor attempt to cover himself, nearly tripping over his own feet. His eyes dart to his roommate when he starts yelling. 

"Dude, I'm fucking naked!" 

"You think I didn't fucking notice!" Soonyoung yells back, quickly covering his eyes though the images of his naked roommate will most probably stay engraved in his mind forever.

"Put some clothes on, geez! My poor virgin eyes!" Soonyoung whines while Mingyu stumbles around the room trying to find some piece of clothing to put on as to avoid traumatizing his roommate any further.

He slips on a random pair of shorts he finds on the ground next to his closet and sighs, "It's okay, you can look."

Soonyoung's hands remain in place where they're covering his eyes. "Are you sure?"

Mingyu rolls his eyes, "Yes, you idiot. You already saw my junk anyway, there's no turning back now."

He watches as Soonyoung peeks through his fingers, sighing a breath of relief. "Well, there's an image that will be haunting me in my nightmares until the day I die."

Mingyu sticks out his tongue because he's a childish 21 year old and that's the only way he can win an argument in his books.

"It's your own fault for barging into my room like that. What do you want anyway?"

Soonyoung shoots him probably the fakest smile he can muster, "Good morning to you too, asshole. You gotta help us clean up downstairs." Soonyoung points a thumb behind him and Mingyu wants to cry because the last thing he wants to do right now is clean.

"I didn't even agree on having this stupid party in the first place, why am I supposed to help?"

"You bitch, don't act like you didn't get fucking _laid_ last night." Soonyoung says, pointing an acussing finger at Mingyu and the latter figures he _does_ have a point. His mind drifts back to Wonwoo and their night together and he thinks he might have to attend more parties from now on.

"Stop smiling, you creep." Soonyoung's annoying voice interrupts his thoughts and he shifts his attention back to his roommate. "Where is the unfortunate soul that slept with you anyway? Did he leave?"

Mingyu flips him off very kindly before nodding, "Yeah, he left." He cringes at the way even his voice sounds disappointed when he speaks and he wonders why he's so hung up on it when it was clearly nothing more than a one time thing.

Soonyoung opens his mouth to speak but something in the background catches his attention and he furrows his eyebrows. Mingyu watches as the older walks towards his nightstand and starts fumbling around with Mingyu's stuff. The younger is about to call him out for snooping through his things but he holds his tongue when Sooyoung turns around holding a oddly familiar looking chain. Mingyu eyes what seems to be a necklace, confusion clouding his mind for a moment when suddenly last night's events register in his mind and he clearly remembers ripping off that exact necklace from Wonwoo's neck.

Soonyoung looks at the necklace then back at Mingyu with a puzzled expression.

"Where did you get this?"

Mingyu is about to reply but something seems to register in Soonyoung's mind and he gasps, eyes widening and all and it has Mingyu feeling guarded because he has no absolute idea what's even going through the other's mind right now.

"Oh my God, Wonwoo is your fucking fuck-buddy?!" Soonyoung has one hand covering his mouth the other still clutching onto the necklace tightly, the shock evident on his entire face.

Mingyu can say he's just as shocked but he isn't sure if it's for the same reason. "How did you figure that out from a fucking _necklace_  ?" 

"Because I got him that necklace, you fucking moron! It's custom made and all!" Soonyoung shoves the necklace into Mingyu's face and sure enough the initials _JWW_  are engraved in the metal piece right at the edge of it.

Mingyu briefly looks at the necklace, his eyes looking back up at Soonyoung in confusion. He tries to piece everything together but solving puzzles was never really his thing and he woudn't call himself that bright either. "Wait, how do you even know Wonwoo?"

"He's my best friend from highschool." 

Mingyu furrows his eyebrows.

_Not exactly what he was expecting to hear._

"Then how come I've never met him?"

"He only moved here this semester. I was planning on introducing him to you guys last night but I'm guessing you already took care of that, am I right?" Soonyoung's eyes are shooting daggers at Mingyu and the latter raises his hands in defense.

"Hey, it's not my fault you were drunk out of your mind and I happened to find your hot ass friend _first_." Mingyu says simply and he has a feeling he's not really helping his case, if Soonyoung's fuming face is any indication.

"He was probably drunk as hell or else he'd never even look at your ugly ass." Soonyoung has the nerve to say and Mingyu would've been way more offended if it were anyone else talking.

Mingyu puts both hands on his hips as if to prove a point, "That's a lie and you fucking know it. You _wish_ you had my looks."

Soonyoung fucking _scoffs_.

"Yeah right."

"Whatever. You're just being salty because I got laid last night. Sucks to be you, now give me that." Mingyu tries to get a hold of the necklace but Soonyoung moves his arm out of the other's reach.

"And why the hell do you even need this?" Soonyoung asks, eyeing Mingyu suspiciously.

"So I can return it to its rightful owner." Mingyu isn't sure why he feels the need to do so because frankly, Soonyoung could just pass it on to Wonwoo and that'd be the end of it. But he's also one to mostly act out of instict so he doesn't give it much more thought.

"I can give it back to him. Why would you have to do it?"

Mingyu shrugs indiffirently, "Because I want to do it."

Soonyoung sighs and Mingyu wonders why his friend is being so damn difficult. He just wants to return a damn necklace to Wonwoo, even though he has no idea why.

"Look, there's a world's difference between drunk Wonwoo and sober Wonwoo. You'll probably be left disappointed." Soonyoung explains and this time he actually seems genuine. Despite of that, Mingyu hovers over Soonyoung's much smaller frame and snatches the necklace out of his hold.

"Well, that's something for me to find out."

Mingyu starts shooing Soonyoung out of his room and the latter complains about Mingyu being an annoying addition to his life. Before they can start bickering again, Soonyoung stops at the frame of Mingyu's door and he says a bit uneasily, "Uhm also, maybe you should refrain from telling anyone else about you and Wonwoo."

Mingyu raises his eyebrows. "Don't tell me he isn't out yet?" he asks, not that it specifically bothers him but Mingyu doesn't usually bother with closeted guys. It almost always makes things complicated and Mingyu would rather not be part of that.

But if Wonwoo wasn't out yet then he wouldn't have kissed Mingyu infront of everyone. 

_Right?_

"Uh-" Soonyoung starts, fiddling with his hands, "-he is. But not everyone knows yet. Let's just say that he's working on it."

Mingyu nods. He wasn't planning on telling anyone anyway. 

"I'm still gonna go see him." Mingyu announces but then his lips turn into a sheepish smile, hand reaching to scratch at his head. "I kinda need your help though."

Soonyoung rolls his eyes, "I'm not giving you his phone number-"

Mingyu pouts.

"- _but_ I can tell you where he works."

Mingyu lips form into a big grin, teeth showing and all. 

"I'll take it!"

 

 

Wonwoo, according to what Soonyoung said, works in a diner that isn't all that far from Mingyu's apartment. Mingyu has kind of a hard time finding it though. Soonyoung did mention it's kind of a _hole-in-the-wall_ but Mingyu didn't realise he had to go on a treasure hunt to find the damn place.

He does succesfully find it  _eventually_ and he's pleasantly surprised at the retro vibe of the diner once he walks in. The whole place is kind of dimly lit with the exception of the bright retro lights on the walls and Mingyu likes to say it gives the diner a nice, relaxing vibe. 

It gives him a pleasant feeling.

He notices that there aren't many people in the diner with the exception of the two teenagers drinking milkshakes in a booth in the corner and a middle-aged man eating a burger alone at the end of the bar.

Speaking of the bar, none other than _Jeon Wonwoo_   is currently hunched over it, hand that is clutching a white cloth scrubbing the countertop. Mingyu isn't sure what he was exactly expecting but Wonwoo isn't wearing a stereotypical 50's retro diner uniform. He figures they probably aren't as strict with cliched dresscoding because, if not for the white apron hanging loosely around Wonwoo's waist, Mingyu would've probably thought he didn't even work here.

Mingyu strides towards the bar and Wonwoo looks up at the sound of footsteps approaching, his eyes widening as soon they take in Mingyu's presence.

_Okay, so he clearly remembers._

Mingyu offers a smile, "Hey."

Wonwoo's expression doesn't quite mirror Mingyu's but he still tries flashing a small smile, if Mingyu can even call it that. "Uh, hi?"

Only then does it dawn on Mingyu that Wonwoo doesn't _know_ about everything that happened the morning after, including Mingyu's conversation with Soonyoung and _holy shit_ , Wonwoo probably thinks Mingyu is an actual stalker.

"Uh I'm sorry for showing up here all of a sudden, this- I know this probably looks totally creepy but I promise I'm not stalking you or anything." Mingyu quickly blurts out, realizing then that Wonwoo still doesn't look convinced and he looks rather freaked out. Which is understandale but Mingyu is _not_ a fucking stalker.

"Soonyoung told me where you work. Um, we're roommates. But I guess you already figured that out." Mingyu's tongue seems to be on a spin and he wonders if he's just making everything worse. 

"Of course he did." Wonwoo finally says and his voice sounds a lot deeper than what Mingyu remembered it to be.

Mingyu grimaces, "Yeah, I kind of pushed him though." Mingyu laughs nervously and shoves his hand in his pockets, when his palm comes in contact with cold metal and he suddenly remembers his purpose of showing up here.

"Oh right." He pulls the necklace out of his pocket. "I came to return this."

Wonwoo looks at the necklace in Mingyu's hand, his own hand instinctively shooting up to touch the empty spot on his neck and he seems to recall Mingyu snatching it off his neck _oh so kindly_.

"Oh yeah. Thanks."

Mingyu hands him the necklace and Wonwoo doesn't put it on, instead slipping it into his own pocket. He looks expectantly back at Mingyu when the latter doesn't make a move to leave.

"Did you need anything else? Or do you want to order something?"

_I was just wondering why you took off in the morning without leaving your number behind and oh right, I also can't seem to get you out of my fucking mind._

"What's the best thing you guys serve?"

Wonwoo shoots him an odd look.

"Our fries pretty much suck but I guess they can be considered edible." Wonwoo offers.

Mingyu isn't sure if this is how employers are supposed to promote their food but he figures Wonwoo looks too unbothered to care.

"I'll have that and a burger then." 

 

 

Wonwoo wasn't lying when he said the fries suck. Because they do. And so does the burger. But Mingyu can eat pretty much anything so he isn't that bothered. And when he glances at the boy swiping the floor a few tables away, Mingyu decides he'll probably have to get used to eating the food here anyway.

 

 

"These fries are really awful but why can't I stop eating them?" Mingyu wonders out loud holding up a fry, his eyes drifting towards Wonwoo who's standing on the other side of the bar.

Wonwoo looks up from where he's cleaning a plate. "That's their charm, I guess." he replies, a bit plainly but it's a reply nonetheless and Mingyu will take what he can get.

Mingyu puts the fry into his mouth munching onto it. He grabs another one, dipping it into some ketchup as he turns to look at Wonwoo again.

"So are you the only waiter here?" 

Wonwoo looks up surprised. Maybe even a bit _annoyed,_ by the looks of it. Soonyoung did say drunk Wonwoo is a lot different from sober Wonwoo. But Mingyu doesn't like jumping into conclusions too soon. Maybe his face just looks like that on a daily basis.

"No. There's usually two waiters around but it's quiet enough around this time of the day so one can handle the shift." Wonwoo's eyes are focused elsewhere when he answers and he looks a bit uninterested but Mingyu wasn't expecting anything more than a one-worded reply so he's pleasantly surprised to say the least.

Mingyu takes a sip from his cola, leaning his elbow on the countertop when he asks, "Do _you_ usually take this shift?" 

Judging by the expression Wonwoo makes, Mingyu figuresthe other isn't too fond of all the questions. However, _prying_ just happens to be a part of Mingyu's nature so there's nothing he can really do.

This time the answer comes short and a bit strained. "It depends."

_"On what?"_

Wonwoo exhales so much air Mingyu starts growing worried. "Oh my god!" Wonwoo finally looks at Mingyu, pieces of black hair falling into his eyes and Mingyu has to remind himself not to get distracted.

"Okay listen here. If you're asking all these questions just because you have something leading up, do me a favor and just ask whatever te hell you want to know." Wonwoo says, both hands on the counter and he's looking at Mingyu as if he wants to rip his head off.

Mingyu decides he'll just ask what's been on his mind the whole time he's been trying to get that awfully chewy burger down his throat. Because Wonwoo _is_ right. All the insufferable questions were indeed just a lead up to what Mingyu really wanted to know.

"Why did you take off in the morning? You didn't even leave your number behind or anything." Mingyu's voice grows smaller when he gets the words out because, as a matter of fact, he never had to do _this_ before.

Wonwoo sighs and Mingyu knows what's coming. " _Look._  The night we had was great and all but that's all it was. One night." Wonwoo concludes and Mingyu knows this. He knows it was nothing more than one night. They're basically as good as complete strangers, so why the hell is Mingyu so hung up on this?

Mingyu's reply comes in the form of a very simple "Okay." 

They stare at each other for a bit longer than necessary and Mingyu has this stupid grin on his face and Wonwoo looks _creeped out._

"Okay?"

Mingyu nods. "Yeah, that's fine."

Mingyu agrees with Wonwoo on it being nothing more than just one meaningless night but he doesn't necassarily agree on ending it by that.

Wonwoo nods, looking a bit skeptical as he eyes Mingyu's face before he returns his attention to the stack of plates infront of him.

"So about that shift-"

Wonwoo snaps his head in Mingyu's direction, shooting the latter a warning look.

Mingyu instantly raises his hands in defense, receiving the message. "Okay, no more questions. I get it." 

His gaze trails over Wonwoo's face, where his jaw's set and lips pulled into a thin line and he hates to admit it but Soonyoung's words couldn't have been more spot on. This Wonwoo is truly a whole world apart from the one Mingyu met the night of the party.

He concludes Wonwoo is truly a tough case but Mingyu has also never been one to back down that easily.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this won't have very slow updates but I suck at pretty much everything in life so I can't promise much. Anyhow, thanks for reading, I hope you'll stick around!


	2. maybe we're perfect strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonwoo's being kind of difficult and Mingyu basically earns himself a degree in embarassing himself.

Mingyu goes back a few days later and he's surprised to find the diner filled with quite the amount of people which is weird considering just how hard this place is to find. Mingyu did come earlier this time and Wonwoo had kind of insinuated that it gets busier during this time of the day.

Mingyu walks inside, bag slung over his shoulder and he finds his eyes already scanning the area for the sight of a certain person. Mingyu's kind of toubled for a moment because he can't be sure Wonwoo works at this time of the day. Or if he even works today at all.

However, that worry is soon gone and Mingyu breaths a sigh of relief when he spots him.

Wonwoo's standing at the very right corner of the diner, hovering over a table occupied by a bunch of preschoolers. With a pen and a notepad clutched in both his hands Wonwoo seems to try his best to take the group's orders, but to no avail. Mingyu has the urge to laugh when he sees the forced smile on Wonwoo's face as he frantically writes down the bunch of dishes thrown into his direction.

Mingyu chuckles to himself, deciding to occupy a small booth on the opposite side of the diner. He sits down, pulling out a bunch books from his bag because he was actually planning to study but he's pretty positive he isn't going to get much studying done.

Not when Wonwoo looks like _that_.

Mingyu's perplexed because Wonwoo isn't even dressed in anything out of the ordinary. His attire consists of nothing more than a plain white t-shirt and a pair of ripped blue jeans but he still manages to look so effortlessly  _good_ and Mingyu decides that it's simply unfair.

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo turns away from the preschoolers with a huff, running a hand through his hair and walking back to the bar. 

It's only then that Mingyu notices the presence of another waiter, which makes sense since the diner is much more packed in comparison to last time. 

Wonwoo walks behind the counter with a scowl, mouth moving as he says something. What the other waiter tells him in return must've been _hilarious_ because Wonwoo throws his head back and laughs so wide, Mingyu's pretty sure the sound almost reaches him. 

Mingyu rolls his eyes and tears his gaze away.

Wonwoo didn't even laugh like that when he was _drunk_.

Mingyu isn't even sure why it bothers him. It just does and he'd rather not think too much into it.

 _Then again_ maybe it's the fact that the closest thing to actual _emotion_ Mingyu ever received from sober Wonwoo was his annoyed expression accompanied by the  _please do me a favor and shut the fuck up_  face. And Mingyu had considered that maybe Wonwoo's expressionless face just happens to be his go-to expression but he obviously has no problem laughing around _cute waiter number 2_ so Mingyu concludes that the issue is probably him. Which doesn't sit well with him at all because as far as he knows, people usually don't hate the idea of having him around.

Mingyu's so consumed in his thoughts, trying _not_ to think about why Wonwoo laughing around others bothers him, that he doesn't even hear the footsteps approaching.

"You're here again." 

Mingyu looks up at the sound of the deep voice and he sees Wonwoo, in all his simple glory, standing next to his booth.

Mingyu grins widely at the other, patting the stack of books infront of him.

"Yep. Came to study." Mingyu wouldn't exactly call it a lie. He _was_ planning on studying, it's just that he probably subconsciously used it as an excuse to show up at the diner again in the span of just a few days.

Wonwoo probably doesn't believe him because he raises one eyebrow, eyeing Mingyu suspisciously. However, he doesn't comment on it and pulls out his notebad instead.

"Okay. Can I bring you anything?"

Mingyu ponders on the question for a moment, his mind drifting back to that awful burger and those nasty fries and he's not sure if he wants a repeat of that. But he's also kind of scared to try anything else so-

"I'll have a burger and fries."

Wonwoo's about to write order down but halts and shoots Mingyu and odd look.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were gonna spit it out last time."

Mingyu smiles slyly.

"So you admit you were looking at me?"

Wonwoo's eyes widen.

_Shit, he went to far._

"Uh I uhm- I meant-"

There's really no turning back now. Mingyu said what he said. 

Wonwoo looks deeply taken aback and Mingyu wishes he could just shut his goddamn mouth for once.

"A burger and fries it is." Wonwoo writes the order down in a flash and leaves just as fast and Mingyu wants to _cry._

He drops his stupid head on the table and he's so embarassed which is odd because Mingyu _rarely_  gets embarassed, especially over the things he says.

So why in the world does he feel the need to crawl into the ground, preferably six feet deep, and _die?_

 

 

Mingyu's frown only grows when his food arrives some time later by the other waiter, who's _not_ Wonwoo.

"One burger and fries, here you go."

The plate is set infront of him and Mingyu offers the waiter a half assed smile, "Thanks."

The waiter looks at him for a bit longer than what's considered normal and Mingyu wonders if he's figured him out.

The guy stands there for a moment and right as Mingyu thinks this is starting to get awkward, he grins, "Enjoy!"

And with that he leaves.

And Mingyu can only sulk further because he can clearly see Wonwoo serving every table _but_ his. He bites into a fry annoyingly and he kind of wants Seokmin to be here and pat his head like he does whenever Mingyu's sad.

Mingyu kind of dreads eating the burger so he refrains from doing that yet and just munches on his fries as he observes the other waiter passing by Wonwoo, telling him something and proceeding with hitting him on the head.

The waiter, that's not Wonwoo, seems to scold him about something while Wonwoo brings a hand to rub at his head.

And then Wonwoo turns to look at Mingyu.

_Fuck._

Mingyu's panicking because he's just been caught staring very intensely and also because Wonwoo just _looked_ at him which in a moment like this can only mean that they were talking about him which freaks him out even more because what could the other waiter possibly tell him and _holy shit_ , Mingyu's this close to bolting out of this place.

He looks away so fast and in state of panic grabs his burger and takes a big ass bite which is a _mistake_ because it tastes even worse than last time. He starts chocking and all he can think is  _great, this is how I die_.

Some people have already turned to look at him and he even sees a man stand up to help him but Mingyu holds up a hand, composing himself.

"I'm fine." he coughs and the man sits back down.

Mingyu doesn't even want to know if Wonwoo saw all _that,_ which he probably did because that's just Mingyu's fucking luck. He's too embarassed to look and he shoves his face into his books instead, wishing the ground could just open up and swallow him whole.

 

 

 

 

Mingyu's chin is resting in his palm and he's lazily drawing doodles in his notebook which he's not very proud of but he's not an art major so he'd easily give himself A for effort.

"I hardly think that's considered studying."

Mingyu snaps his head up so fast it might as well be broken.

He sees Wonwoo nod towards the doodles and Mingyu smiles sheepishly.

"I could be an art major for all you know."

Wonwoo chuckles at that.

He fucking _chuckles_.

Mingyu might as well throw a goddamn party in celebration because _Jeon_ fucking _Wonwoo_ chuckled at something he, _Kim Mingyu_ , said.

"If you were an art major and drew like that, then I think we'd have a problem." Wonwoo says and his face is as expressionless as ever but he just replied with a completed sentence and Mingyu thinks he can hear angels singing.

"Are you done with that?" he asks, nodding towards Mingyu's plate and Mingyu eyes the half eaten burger with dread before he pushes the plate away.

"Yeah, _thanks_."

Mingyu wants to say Wonwoo looks amused which is kind of hard to tell but Mingyu would like to assume he is.

"You actually ate a lot of it. I thought you'd give up after almost dying." Wonwoo comments and _fuck, he actually saw._

Mingyu thinks this is the right moment for him to crawl into the ground and just wait for death to arrive.

Mingyu cringes, "I was kind of hoping nobody saw that."

"I'm pretty sure  _everybody_ saw that." Wonwoo says and then, "Jeonghan was even about to call for help." Wonwoo adds, pointing a thumb at the other waiter and Mingyu's pretty sure the name rings a bell but he can't seem to put his finger on it.

"Right. Good to know I made an absolute fool of myself." 

In any other situation Mingyu would probably never step foot in this diner again but how is he supposed to do that when it's pretty much guaranteed that he's going to be served by the cutest waiter in the history of cute waiters?

Wonwoo looks like he wants to say something but he refrains from doing so and instead leans in to grab Mingyu's plate. 

Mingyu knows it's creepy but he can't keep his eyes from wandering over Wonwoo's face, sharp jaw and pretty lips and Mingyu's suddenly reminded of the fact that he _kissed_ those lips.

It seems like such an distant memory at this point but it still _happened_ and Mingyu thinks this is definitely not the ideal time to be thinking about _that_.

He notices then the familiar necklace that has slipped out from Wonwoo's shirt and Mingyu's kind of glad he didn't damage it by snatching it off that night.

And because Mingyu is the fucking idiot that he is, he obviously voices that thought out loud.

"I'm glad that it didn't get ruined." Mingyu says, pointing at the necklace, "You know, because I- uh, I did that- I snatched it off when we were-"

Mingyu wonders why he can't bite his damn tongue for once in his fucking life.

Wonwoo looks uncomfortable again and Mingyu thinks they just took two steps back.

"Uh yeah. It's all good." Wonwoo says, pushing the necklace back under his shirt.

He looks at Mingyu for a moment and then before Mingyu can possibly fuck up any further, Wonwoo turns around leaves.

And they're back to square one.

_Great._

 

 

 

Mingyu walks into his apartment, dropping his bag on the ground next to the door knowing for a fact that Seokmin's going to trip over it when he comes back later but still not bothering to pick it up.

He walks over to the couch where Soonyoung's currently seated while playing some video game.

Soonyoung seems to take notice of him and without shifting his attention away from the tv screen the older asks, "Where have been this whole time? You didn't have any classes today."

Mingyu drops on the couch with a heavy sigh and spreads his long limbs all over the place, kicking Soonyoung's face in the process and the older immediately starts to complain.

"Hey idiot, I'm trying to play here! Get your ass somewhere else!" Soonyoung tries to push him off the couch but Mingyu doesn't budge and instead lets out a dramatic sigh.

Soonyoung pauses the game with a huff and turns to look at Mingyu. 

"What's gotten you into this mood? You were fine this morning." 

Mingyu looks at his roommate with a frown and the latter seems to catch on instantly.

"You went to the diner again, didn't you?" Soonyoung asks and when Mingyu doesn't reply, looking rather guilty, the older pretty much receives his answer.

"Mingyu-"

"Yeah yeah, I know what you told me. Sober Wonwoo is different from drunk Wonwoo, I'll be left disappointed _blah blah blah-_ " 

Soonyoung shoots Mingyu a glare.

"- _but_ Wonwoo's so... he's just- he's so _ugh._ "

Soonyoung scrunches his face in disgust.

"I don't know what that means and I'm not sure I want to know." 

Mingyu looks like a hurt puppy and Soonyoung sighs, "Look. I don't even know why you're so hung up on him but Wonwoo's truly tough when it comes to things like that. He's very closed off. I literally went through hell and back in highschool till I managed to get him to open up."

What Soonyoung says seems reasonable and Mingyu considers his words for a moment.

But then he thinks about Wonwoo laughing because of Jeonghan and he really wants Wonwoo to laugh like that because of _him_.

"Will you come to the diner with me next time?"

Soonyoung gives him a pointed look, "Did you _not_ hear everything I just said-"

"I need an excuse to go back and all of the ones I have left make me look like a total stalker so I need you to come with me so it'll be less obvious." Mingyu says completely disregarding Soonyoung's words.

"Fuck no, I'm not plotting with you against my best friend."

"It's not plotting  _against_ him. It's plotting with him as the cause."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

Mingyu whines, kicking his legs against the cushions repeatedly.

" _Please._ Just help me out." Mingyu says, making puppy eyes and he knows Soonyoung has to break eventually.

The older looks at Mingyu with calculating eyes before sighing and Mingyu knows he has already given in.

" _Fine._ "  

Mingyu has already thrown himself onto the older, pulling him into a hug. And as Soonyoung struggles to push him off saying something about how Wonwoo's going to kill him, Mingyu decides that _this_ time he's going to make progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                      

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know so far things are mostly taking place at the diner but I promise other settings will be appearing once the story unfolds some more. Also the chapter titles are all song lyrics. They may not always fit the content of the chapter perfectly but I'll try to get as close as possible.  
> Hope you like it so far! Kudos and comments are much appreciated:)


	3. you make me smile it's what you do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soonyoung helps out a bit and Mingyu finds that milkshakes taste the best when shared.

"Mingyu, you're being dramatic."

"That's a false accusation. Now _go_."

"You're acting like a baby."

Mingyu stomps his feet on the ground and latches onto Soonyoung's arm.

" _Please_ , just go in first." 

Soonyoung rolls his eyes, mumbling something under his breath which Mingyu doesn't quite catch, thankfully. Mingyu doubts it was anything positive.

Soonyoung keeps his word and accompanies Mingyu to the diner. It's kind of late though and when Mingyu questions Soonyoung about it the older explains that Wonwoo is finishing up his shift and that they are supposed to walk home togetherbecause Wonwoo's apartment is apparently in the same direction as theirs. Which is all new information and Mingyu isn't sure if he's supposed to freak out or not. Mingyu honestly thought he'd just sit in a booth and maybe order a burger again, even though it nearly killed him last time.

But he sure as hell didn't think _that_ far ahead.

"I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of this." Soonyoung sighs as if Mingyu is draining the life out of him, which he probably is and proceeds to push the door open, walking inside _first_  per Mingyu's request.

Okay maybe Mingyu is being kind of dramatic.

Just a tad bit though.

 

Mingyu follows Soonyoung into the diner and immediately notices that it's completely empty apart from the _cute_ guy cleaning the floor a few tables away.

There's music playing in the diner and although it's not very loud, Wonwoo still lightly bops his head to the sound.

Mingyu kind of wants to keep staring but Soonyoung calls Wonwoo's name, his head raising upon the sudden sound.

Wonwoo's lips lift in a smile once his eyes set onto his friend but then they focus on the head poking out from behind Soonyoung and the smile falters completely that Mingyu's not even sure if it even appeared to begin with.

Mingyu's kind of used to the other not being exactly _delighted_ by his presence so is he surprised? _No._

Disappointed? A little bit.

"Hey." Wonwoo greets and his whole posture changes and Mingyu hates that he's the cause of it. "What are you guys doing here?"

And eventhough Mingyu would _love_ to ponder on the fact that Wonwoo probably hates the sole idea of sharing the same oxygen with him, he realizes then that him and Soonyoung have not made up a story as to why they're here together. They could probably just come up with something simple but Wonwoo's probably smarter than that and besides, Mingyu made himself pretty obvious already.

And it's not like telling the truth is gonna work either.

Mingyu looks at Soonyoung for help but the other has his back still turned on him and Mingyu is about to blurt the first and probably least believable excuse that comes to mind-

"We just got back from Seungcheol's. He called us up to go see his new dog and I knew you had a late shift so I thought we could pick you up on the way back."

Mingyu has absolutely no idea who Seungcheol even _is_ and if he really _did get_ a new dog but Soonyoung's lie seems to be believable enough because Wonwoo doesn't even look suspicious in the slightest.

Mingyu releases a breath he didn't even know he was holding and mentally praises Soonyoung for making up a lie so fast on the spot.

Wonwoo nods. "I'm finishing up so we can leave in a bit." His eyes flick to Mingyu for a brief moment before dropping to the ground and Mingyu mentally sulks.

 

 

 

Once Wonwoo locks the diner up and the three of them start walking back, the silence that grows between them is nearly suffocating and eventhough Soonyoung tries his best in making small talk, it still doesn't do much to get rid of the tension.

At this point Mingyu knows it can't possibly get more uncomfortable than this but life proves him wrong when Soonyoung abruptly stops and starts patting his pockets frantically.

Mingyu figures it seems a bit _fishy_ but he still comes to a halt, looking at Soonyoung confusedly.

" _Shit_." 

"What's wrong?" Wonwoo asks, eyebrows scrunching in concern.

"I must've forgotten my phone back at Seungcheols." 

_There it is._

"I'm gonna have to go and get it but you guys go ahead."

Mingyu knows Soonyoung is lying because frankly, there was no Seungcheol and Mingyu's pretty sure he saw the older holding his phone earlier.

"Wait-"

Mingyu's panicking because Soonyoung leaving means Wonwoo and him will be left alone which honestly should sound like music to his ears but Mingyu knows it's only bound to turn awkward somehow.

Plus, he wants to approach Wonwoo slowly. He doesn't want him running away from him.

But Mingyu apparently has no say in this because Soonyoung's already walking away in the opposite direction.

And of course, he doesn't forget to embarrass Mingyu while he's at it.

"See you guys! Oh and Wonwoo, make sure to walk Mingyu home. He's still pretty much a baby and he'll probably lose his way!" 

Mingyu's entire face flares up.

He makes sure to give his roommate a piece of his mind later when he gets back home but right now he needs to deal with whatever Soonyoung got him into.

"Uh you don't need to walk me home or anything, I'm not a baby. I uh- I won't lose my way." Mingyu feels the need to clarify this while he turns to look at Wonwoo, his face still very much on fire.

Wonwoo scratches the back of his head, shrugging his shoulders.

"Uh it's fine. We're heading in the same direction anyway."

His eyes avoid Mingyu's and the latter feels kind of bad because Wonwoo clearly looks uncomfortable.

"Okay." 

They start walking and fall into silence again. Mingyu can only think about the fact that they're still nowhere near his apartment and that eventough Mingyu's perfectly contented with just staring at Wonwoo's face, if neither of them are going to speak then this is bound to be the most awkward walk both of them will have to experience.

And because he knows Wonwoo isn't going to be making an attempt at conversing, Mingyu might as well.

"So Soonyoung mentioned that you just moved here this semester." Mingyu clears his throat, continuing. "Are you a student at our university or are you enrolled somewhere else?" Mingyu asks because he needs something decent enough to break the silence and also because he's genuinely curious.

"Uh neither actually."

Wonwoo notices the questioning look on Mingyu's face and continues.

"I uh, dropped out. And then moved here right away basically." Wonwoo looks a bit uneasy when he speaks.

Mingyu kind of wants to ask why but he figures it's not his business to pry and Wonwoo doesn't seem like he enjoys talking about it either.

"Oh cool." Mingyu chooses to say and then asks. "Are you planning on going back?"

Wonwoo shoves both of his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

"I don't know. Maybe."

There's a pause and then,

"Probably not."

Mingyu nods, understading of the other's decision. Mingyu's own parents would probably murder him if he were to ever drop out and he likes his major enough to do so anyway.

They fall into silence once more and Mingyu shoves his hands in the pockets of his hoodie because the air is seemingly getting colder and he's definitely underdressed for this kind of weather.

He glances at Wonwoo subtly, noting that the other isn't really dressed that appropriately either, the latter having thrown a jean jacket over his thin t-shirt.

"So," Mingyu starts again and Wonwoo lifts his head, catching his eyes for a brief moment before Mingyu tears his gaze away. "Are you planning on staying here for good? Or will you going back."

Wonwoo sighs then and Mingyu kind of holds his breath for the answer that will follow.

It's not that Mingyu is necessarily _scared_ that the other's stay is only temporarily. It's just that Wonwoo is already kind of hard to approach and Mingyu doesn't really like the idea of not being able to get to know him any better.

"I don't think so." 

Mingu bites back a smile.

"For the time being at least." 

Mingyu gives a nod. "That's good. Soonyoung's been kind of hard to deal with lately, I could really use some help."

Wonwoo laughs softly and Mingyu almost misses it.

There's a hint of a smile on Wonwoo's face and Mingyu thinks it's absolutely crazy that someone's smile makes him feel as if he won a fucking medal.

But this is the most Wonwoo has offered him up until now and Mingyu thinks this kind of beats winning a medal anyway.

Or maybe he's just gone insane.

"Yeah that pretty much sums Soonyoung up." Wonwoo says and Mingyu doesn't miss the fond look on his face.

Mingyu pulls his lips into a smile and he kind of wants to talk more. He wants to ask Wonwoo more questions and he kinds of wants to make him laugh again.

But Mingyu realizes soon that his apartment has already come into view and he hates that they have to part right when Mingyu manages to start up a normal conversation for once.

"Well, this is me." Mingyu stops infront of his apartment and Wonwoo mirrors his movements.

"I know."

"Uh thanks for walking with me. Even though I could totally get here on my own, I swear!" Mingyu says a bit defensively and he thinks he sees amusement on Wonwoo's face.

"I'm sure you could." 

Mingyu isn't sure if Wonwoo's tone is serious or if he's teasing but he lets it slide.

"Well, I'll see you around?" Mingyu questions and it's not supposed to mean anything but he finds himself halting infront of the door, waiting for Wonwoo's answer anxiously.

Wonwoo nods letting out a hum and it's not exactly the answer Mingyu was hoping for but it's promising enough so he decides to leave it at that.

Mingyu offers a nod as a silent form of goodbye and turns towards the door to open it.

When he glances back over his shoulder, Wonwoo is already gone.

 

 

 

It's 2pm on a Friday and Mingyu is bored out of his mind.

He has no classes and he's sprawled on his couch with a bowl of cereal in his lap and a random netflix documentary playing in the background. Mingyu's isn't even paying attention and he could be doing a thousand other things at the moment but he simply refuses to spend his free time doing something productive.

But then there's a knock on the door and Mingyu thinks it's sad that he gets excited at finally doing something other than laying around.

He sets his cereal on the coffee table and proceeds to get up and drag himself towards the door.

Who he sees when he opens the door is definitely not someone he was expecting. _At all._

Wonwoo stares back at him, hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket and Mingyu notices the slightly damp strands of hair falling over his forehead and he can only guess that the other must've just taken a shower.

"Hey." Wonwoo starts, taking a peek behind Mingyu's back and then, "Is Soonyoung not home?" 

Mingyu shakes his head. "No, he left for a class not too long ago."

Wonwoo frowns at that and Mingyu finds the sight  _adorable_.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Uh no, everything's fine. Soonyoung was just supposed to help me move some stuff into my apartment." Wonwoo looks at the ground, deep in thought before adding, "I guess he forgot."

Mingyu hardly believes Soonyoung forgot and he's pretty sure this is just one of his set-ups but Wonwoo doesn't seem to catch on so Mingyu doesn't see a reason as to why he shouldn't play along.

"I can help you if you want."

Wonwoo looks up in shock and Mingyu is convinced that's the _last_ thing the other wants.

"Oh uh no, you don't have to. I can manage on my own." 

Mingyu grins, leaning his arm against the doorframe. "I'm sure you can but you'll get it done faster if I help."

Wonwoo is about to decline so Mingyu quickly adds, "I don't have anything better to do anyway." 

He sees Wonwoo contemplate the offer and watches as he lets out a small sigh and judging by his face, he probably knows that Mingyu will not likely back down.

"Okay then."

 

 

 

_"What in the world is in here?"_

Mingyu puts the box down with a huff, knowing for a fact that he'll be having back problems after carrying a box, filled with what he can only assume are a bunch of _rocks,_  all the way up to Wonwoo's apartment.

Wonwoo glances at the box as he walks through the door, carrying a remarkably _smaller_ box in size.

"Books."

_Makes sense._

Mingyu straightens his back, stretching his arms over his head and turns to Wonwoo.

"Is there anything left downstairs?" he asks, sparing a glance at all the boxes that they had previously carried all the way up the apartment which happens to be on the third floor of a building with an elevator that very conveniently happens to be out of order.

Despite that, they still get the job done rather quickly and Mingyu feels kind of proud.

"No, this is all." Wonwoo shakes his head and looks at Mingyu, offering him a small smile that surprisingly only seems a _little_ forced. "Thanks for helping me out."

Mingyu grins, pushing some of the boxes to the side of the room so they're not in the way.

"No problem." 

Mingyu kind of awkwardly shifts from one foot to another, wondering if this is the moment where he has to get up and leave-

"Do you, uh, want something to drink?" Wonwoo asks, looking up at Mingyu and the latter is convinced he's just trying to be polite.

But then again, Wonwoo  _is_  offering to spend more time him and who is Mingyu to say not to that?   

"I'm pretty sure I have some coffee left, I could probably-"

Wonwoo's about to head for the kitchen and it's not that Mingyu doesn't _like_ coffee, it's just that he has something much better in mind.

"Milkshakes. Let's have milkshakes."

Wonwoo halts and raises one eyebrow. "Milkshakes? I don't think I have the ingredients to make milkshakes."

Mingyu grins.

"Don't worry, I know just the place."

 

 

 

 

"I can't believe I'm here on my day off."

Wonwoo starts complaining again and Mingyu can't help but laugh.

"And I can't believe I'm consuming anything coming from you guys again but I guess this day is just full of surprises."

Which is true because even the fact alone that Wonwoo agreed on them spending more time together than necessary came as a full blown surprise to Mingyu.

But here they are, sitting in a booth together, about to drink the milkshakes that Jeonghan had brought in just a minute ago. Mingyu's kind of dreading doing the latter but Wonwoo's looking like quite the sight opposite him and who is Mingyu to complain?

Wonwoo gives him a look. "You're gonna regret not getting the chocolate one, I'm telling you."

Mingyu rolls his eyes because this has to be the third time Wonwoo reminds him that he's made a wrong decision ordering the strawberry milkshake but Mingyu _loves_ strawberries, so what was he supposed to do?

"Whatever. I'm probably not going to be able to finish it anyway." Mingyu shrugs, eyeing the pink substance suspiciously because it looks rather good but Mingyu has his doubts.

"Your loss." 

Wonwoo starts sipping on his own milkshake and Mingyu searches his face for any signs of _discomfort_ but there's none. Mingyu can only guess the other's gotten immune to the taste at this point.

Mingyu eyes his milkshake with dread and loath and he hates to admit it but he's fucking terrified of a _milkshake_.

He hears Wonwoo sigh.

"Mingyu, it's not gonna bite you."

"Yeah but it could kill me."

Wonwoo shakes his head. "Just give it a try."

So naturally, Mingyu _does_ give it a try and he waits for the taste to kick in and his taste buds to start crying.

But that doesn't happen.

Instead he's met with the surprising taste of _actual_ strawberries and sure, it may not be the best milkshake he's ever had but it doesn't make him want to vomit and Mingyu's absolutely baffled.

"Holy shit, this is actually not terrible!"

Wonwoo smirks. "Told you." and then- "But mine is still better."

And he should probably not look at it that way but Wonwoo seems to have a rather challenging look in his eyes and Mingyu has a hard time saying no to challenges.

So before he has time to think it over, his insticts kick in and he places both his hands on the table and leans over to Wonwoo's side, taking a long sip from the boy's straw.

At this point Mingyu's way too mindblown by the amazingly _good_ taste of the chocolate milkshake that he completely misses Wonwoo freezing and his eyes widening to the size of tennis balls.

"Oh my god, this has to be the best fucking milkshake I've ever tasted!"

Wonwoo coughs, squirming in his seat a bit. "Yeah it is, isn't it?"

"Are you kidding?!" Mingyu's eyebrows have shot up and he's basically screaming at this point causing Wonwoo to let out a quiet chuckle.

Mingyu only then notices that his little excitement outburst has caused some heads in the diner to turn and look at him in, clearly disturbed, and he blushes lowering his head.

"I can't believe this is the second time I'm making a fool out of myself in this place."

It's actually the fact that Mingyu makes a fool out of himself infront of _Wonwoo_ again that embarrasses him more but he doesn't say that out loud.

"I wouldn't care if I were you." Wonwoo mumbles and Mingyu nearly misses it but he finds himself smiling.

"So," Mingyu starts after taking a sip from his own milkshake this time. "This thought hasn't left my mind ever since-" _we had sex that one night_ , Mingyu is about to say but decides against it. "-uh, it hasn't left my mind and I just can't help but ask."

Wonwoo nods.

"Am I younger than you?"

Wonwoo scrunches his eyebrows. "How would I know?"

"Well, how old are you?"

Wonwoo tilts his head. "Aren't you getting a bit too personal?"

Wonwoo looks awfully smug and Mingyu wonders were the sudden attitude came from.

 _Two can play the game_ , he thinks.

Mingyu scoffs, leaning back into his seat. "I hardly think we can get any more personal than we did on our first encounter."

Wonwoo chokes on his milkshake and Mingyu grins.

"Well," Wonwoo coughs, face red. "To answer your question, I'm 23."

"That makes me two years younger."

Wonwoo eyes him in disbelief. "I thought you and Soonyoung were in the same year, since you're roommates and all."

"No but we were both friends with Seokmin and things kind of fell together."

Mingyu still remembers desperately trying to find a place for himself after moving out from his parents' home and when he finally started accepting the fact that he was probably going to end up sleeping in his car, Seokmin came in like his knight in shining armor, offering him a room because him and his friend were looking for a third rommate anyway.

"You haven't met him yet, have you? Seokmin, I mean." Mingyu asks, knowing fully well that he would've known if they had met.

Let's just say that Seokmin tends to get overly excited when meeting new people.

Wonwoo shakes his head, eyes drifting from Mingyu to his milkshake where he starts moving the straw around. "Soonyoung was supposed to introduce us on the day of the party but... _you know._ "

Wonwoo avoids taking about their night together as much as he can and Mingyu isn't sure if he's supposed to be hurt by that.

He kind of _is_.

"Well, he's really cool. Maybe you can, like, come over once. To uh- to meet him, I mean."

Mingyu doesn't mention that he kind of just wants an excuse to see Wonwoo again and he waits for an answer from the older, whatever that will be.

Wonwoo smiles and Mingyu barely notices how his lips form into a smile of their own at the sight.

"Maybe I will."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, I'm sorry if this took a bit long.  
> I'm not really as much proud of this chapter as I'd like to be but I still hope you can bear with my half assed chapters until we get to the good stuff.  
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also I made a Spotify playlist which includes all the songs used for the chapter titles. Here it is
> 
>  [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/u7lwjszk1dhjyyouccfhoe5m6/playlist/1Kx4Ecgiz6paaKROraNek0?si=72RAd5IaQkq9brsDGwxX3w)
> 
> I'll be updating it with every chapter that I post!  
>  
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated:)


	4. so tell me where i went wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu doesn't quite understand his feelings but he knows he can't let Wonwoo go that easily. Even if the latter makes things kind of hard.

"I can't believe you guys went for milkshakes and nobody told me."

Soonyoung plops down on Mingyu's bed with a pout.

Mingyu looks up from his phone and sighs. "We just went for milkhakes, it's not like we got married or anything. Don't make a big deal out of it."

Soonyoung scoffs. "Yeah, as if you're one to talk. Knowing you, you probably couldn't stop thinking about it all day." Soonyoung says and then points an accusing finger at Mingyu. "I bet you're still internally gushing about it."

And Mingyu won't even try to deny it because he _is_ still thinking about it.

He thinks about Wonwoo's small smile and how he couldn't seem to fall asleep after getting home that night.

"Shut up." Mingyu feels his face burn.

"You're not even trying to deny it. How could not tell me, you asshole?"

Mingyu watches as Soonyoung grabs a pillow and aims it at his head.

"I'm sorry, okay? I forgot!"

"I'm practically your matchmaker, how could you forget? You're supposed to be informing me about things like that. I can't believe I had to find out from Jeonghan!"

Soonyoung lays his head down dramatically and Mingyu rolls his eyes.

"And I can't believe you bailed out on your best friend. You're an asshole friend, you know that?"

Mingyu spits out and he knows he's being kind of a hypocrite because if it weren't for Soonyoung he'd probably only dream about having milkshakes with Wonwoo so he should actually be thanking his roommate. But he's never going to admit that out loud.

"You know you should be thanking me for that, right?"

_"Thanking you for what?"_

Mingyu and Soonyoung both turn to look at Seokmin who enters the room just like that, walking over to the bed. He moves Mingyu's feet to the side and drops down next to Soonyoung.

Mingyu wants to yell that they both have their own beds to lay on but Soonyoung speaks before he has the chance to.

"He should be thanking me for setting him up with his crush."

"He's not my-"

"You have a crush?!" Seokmin jumps up on the bed excitedly, nearly making Mingyu fall off.

"He's not my crush, I just-"

"Yeah right. As if you wouldn't marry him in a heartbeat if you could." Soonyoung scoffs.

Mingyu kicks him in the shin and continues.

"-I just want to get to know him."

"Sounds like a crush to me." Soonyoung mumbles.

"Who is it though?" Seokmin asks before Mingyu has the chance to kick Soonyoung of the bed.

"Wonwoo."

Seokmin scrunches his eyebrows in thought, the name probably ringing a bell.

"Wonwoo as in your friend from highschool Wonwoo?" 

Soonyoung nods.

"How come Mingyu has met him and I haven't?" 

Soonyoung snaps his head to look at Mingyu, a forced smile edged on his face.

"Yes, Mingyu. How come? Elaborate _please_."

Seokmin looks at him expectantly and Mingyu can only glare at Soonyoung.

"We uh, we happened to meet at the party. That's all."

Mingyu isn't exactly lying, he's just not telling the whole truth. And it's not like Mingyu doesn't want to tell Seokmin. Seokmin is his friend after all and Mingyu pretty much tells him everything. But this is probably something that should be kept between him and Wonwoo. At least until Wonwoo decides otherwise.

Soonyoung gives him a knowing look and Mingyu isn't sure if this was a test of some sort but the older seems satisfied with Mingyu's answer.

"Oh. Well, I want to meet him too!" Seokmin voices and Mingyu gets reminded of the conversation hehad with Wonwoo at the diner.

"I kind of invited him over so you can meet him and he didn't disagree?" 

Soonyoung looks taken aback, as if Wonwoo agreeing to coming over is the most shocking thing he's ever heard.

"He did?" Soonyoung's eyebrows are raised and he looks genuinely surprised.

Mingyu isn't sure if he's supposed to be offended or not.

"Yeah? Why are you so surprised?"

Soonyoung shrugs. "I don't know. It just doesn't seem like something Wonwoo would do. Did he really agree, like, wholeheartedly? Because Wonwoo often says things he doesn't mean."

Mingyu is about to confirm that Wonwoo did indeed agree and that Soonyoung should stop spoiling his excitement. But he stops to think it over for a moment and he realizes that Wonwoo never really agreed _wholeheartedly_. 

He never even said he was going to come. He said _maybe_.

Which probably means _no_ and Wonwoo isn't going to come and Mingyu just got excited for no reason.

Mingyu burries his head in a pillow and falls back down on he bed with a whine. 

"Is he okay?" Mingyu hears Seokmin ask.

"He's just  _whipped_ as hell."

 

 

  

Mingyu exhales loudly and drops his head onto his books. The girl sitting on his right gives him an odd look and Mingyu grins in embarrassment. 

The thing is, Mingyu _rarely_ goes to study at the library. But Soonyoung and Seokmin had just purchased a karaoke set and apparently couldn't wait another second before trying it out. Mingyu could hardly even hear his own thoughts so he had to compromise if he didn't want to fail his mid terms.

However, he can't concentrate. _At all._ So much to the point that he starts to consider just going home and joining the karaoke session, which he's pretty sure is still very much going on.

And after a _not_ so long moment of consideration Mingyu decides that's exactly what he is going to do and eventhough he kind of hates himself for giving up so quickly, he figures he'll get over it eventually.

He shoves his books into his bag, ignoring the judgemental look the girl gives him, and stands up to leave.

He strides through the library, passing by a bunch of bookshelves in a fast pace and he starts wondering whether Wonwoo has a shift at the diner today. It's been a few days since they last saw each other and he hates to admit it but he kind of misses the older's presence.

Mingyu knows it's stupid. They barely know each other and Wonwoo is only now starting to bear with Mingyu's presence. But Wonwoo is constantly on his fucking mind and it's something Mingyu can't explain even if he tried.

He's probably just going insane.

As if Mingyu's thoughts are heard by some higher power, once he's almost at the door he comes face to face with none other than Jeon Wonwoo himself.

Wonwoo in _glasses,_ to be exact.

Mingyu feels his heart do a little something at the sight.

Wonwoo seems just as shocked to meet Mingyu here of all places as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Mingyu, hey."

Said boy breaks into a small smile.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Wonwoo asks and Mingyu contemplates his answer for a bit.

"I have to study for mid terms. What about you?"

Wonwoo holds up a novel in his hand. "Came to read a book." 

And Mingyu knows he had already decided that he was done with attempting to study and was literally about to leave so he doesn't quite know why he says what he says next.

"Uh I just came in actually. We can sit together if you want? I could use the company." 

Mingyu feels the need to vomit as he waits for Wonwoo's answer. The latter looks a bit skeptical and Mingyu just _knows_ he's going to politely decline which is going to make him look like a complete idiot and-

"Sure, why not."

 

 

 

 

Mingyu is _this_ close to ripping his hair out.

He hadn't quite realized that concentrating would be so much harder with Wonwoo sitting on the opposite side of the table.

But Wonwoo looks so damn distacting and Mingyu's textbooks somehow look even less appealing than before.

Mingyu watches as Wonwoo flips through yet another page, like he's been doing for the past hour, dark eyes looking immensely focused on whatever his book is about and Mingyu thinks he could probably stare at him for hours.

Which is odd considering Mingyu has the attention span of rock.

But then his stomach grumbles and he realizes that he hasn't eaten anything in hours and although staring at Wonwoo like a total creep is something he'd love to continue doing, he'd rather do it on a full stomach.

Plus, he figures it's just a matter of time until Wonwoo notices that Mingyu has been on the same page of his textbook for the past hour and Mingyu hasn't prepared an excuse for that.

"Hey Wonwoo."

Wonwoo looks up at the sound of Mingyu's voice and the older lets out a smal hum in reply.

"Are you hungry?"

Wonwoo pulls his eyebrows together and seemingly ponders on the question for a moment.

"Well, I could-"

"Great! Because I'm starving! Le's go grab a bite!" Mingyu doesn't really give him a chance to reply, already standing up and packing his things.

Wonwoo looks a bit taken aback but shuts his book anyway, following Mingyu's steps.

 

 

 

 

"Is this the best burger I've ever had or am I just really hungry?" 

Wonwoo chuckles, taking a bite out of his own burger.

"Yeah, they're definitely better than the ones we serve." Wonwoo says, hand reaching into Mingyu's bag of fries which would have the younger complaining on any other occasion. But Mingyu is feeling rather nice today so he decides to let it slide.

"I'm pretty sure every burger out there is better than the ones you guys serve."

Wonwoo isn't even slightly offended by what Mingyu says, as he lets out a small laugh at the comment.

They've occupied a bench in a small park because Wonwoo complained that it was too stuffy in the fast food place and Mingyu doesn't really care either way, as long as he gets to eat.

Mingyu glances at Wonwoo and he thinks that a week ago he'd probably laugh if someone told him they'd be eating burgers and fries together in a random park.

Hell, he'd probably think they were crazy.

And sure, Wonwoo might not be spilling every little secret about himself just yet but Mingyu would like to believe the older doesn't hate the idea of them breathing the same air anymore.

And then Mingyu thinks about their night together and he's itching to know how Wonwoo feels about it. He knows they're just getting to know each other and Mingyu should probably leave this conversation for another time but he's as impatient as one can get.

"So about our thing at the night of the party-"

Wonwoo stiffens immediately and his whole form seems to shrink. 

"Uh, can we- Can we not talk about that?"

Mingyu's stomach drops and he feels like a fucking idiotbecause here he thought that maybe Wonwoo was starting to have a change of heart which is obviously not the case. 

And Mingyu is so confused. He honestly has no idea where they stand at all. He's not sure whether they're considered friends, simple acquaintances or just two complete strangers that happened to sleep together.

He has absolutely no idea how Wonwoo feels about him and he doesn't fucking understand why that bothers him so much.

Why in the world does he care so much?

"Why do you avoid the topic so much?"

Wonwoo sighs and runs a hand through his hair, jaw clenching.

"Mingyu, I already told you how I felt the first time you showed up. I made it pretty clear. Just because we had milkshakes once and ate burgers together doesn't mean anything has changed." 

Wonwoo's tone is harsh and cold and everything that should make Mingyu want to give up.

So why does he feel the need to do the exact opposite?

"So whatever it is that you want or whatever your _intentions_ are, save us both the bother and just drop it." The older's eyes are trained on the ground as he speaks, not bothering to even glance into Mingyu's direction and it definitely hits a nerve.

"I'm just trying to get to know you. Is that so bad?"

Wonwoo finally turns to look at him and Mingyu kind of wishes he hadn't.

" _Why?_ Why in the world would you want to get to know me so badly?" Wonwoo's stare is hard and dark and it's nothing Mingyu's used to from the older.

Mingyu scoffs. "I just do. Why do I need to have a reason?"

Wonwoo lets out what seems to be a sarcastic chuckle and shakes his head.

"God, you're so fucking stubborn."

"Yeah well you're kind of a fucking asshole." Mingyu snaps before he gets the chance to control his mouth and he regrets it the moment the words slip from his tongue.

He doesn't say anything though, choosing to keep his lips sealed which is probably not the wisest thing to do.

"You're right." Mingyu hears Wonwoo speak. "I'm an asshole and that's pretty much all you need to know about me. So there you go, wish granted."

Mingyu can feel Wonwoo stand up and he kind of wants to swallow his pride, call Wonwoo's name and just make things right, if they're even wrong to begin with.

And that's thing.

Mingyu doesn't fucking understand what's wrong so how is he supposed to make it right? He doesn't know what Wonwoo thinks his _intentions_ are or what he believes Mingyu really wants.

"I'm leaving, I have a long day tomorrow." Wonwoo announces and Mingyu wants nothing more than to go back in time and maybe just keep his mouth shut from the beginning of this stupid conversation.

Wonwoo walks off and only then does Mingyu look up to watch the older's retreating back.

Mingyu sighs and he's conflicted between being mad at Wonwoo or at himself. He knows he can't force Wonwoo into anything and that's not what he's striving for at all. 

He just wishes he could talk to Wonwoo without having to walk on eggshells all the time.

And this whole conversation should be enough for Mingyu to get the message. But just like Wonwoo said, Mingyu _is_ indeed very stubborn and he can't possibly leave things like this.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi to anyone reading this! I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I was sick for a pretty long time and I had no energy to do anything. But I managed to get this done as soon as I felt better.  
> I'm sorry if this is too short, I wanted to make this chapter longer but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. I hope you'll like it regardless.
> 
> Also I made a Spotify playlist which includes all the songs used for the chapter titles. Here it is
> 
>  [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/u7lwjszk1dhjyyouccfhoe5m6/playlist/1Kx4Ecgiz6paaKROraNek0?si=72RAd5IaQkq9brsDGwxX3w)
> 
> I'll be updating it with every chapter that I post!  
> p.s. i came up with the title for this chapter originally from blackpink rose's cover of eyes closed by halsey but it doesn't exist on spotify so i'll be adding the original song by halsey to the playlist which has a different vibe to it but you can just find the stripped version by halsey or rose's cover on youtube if you'd like to listen to it. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!  
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated:)


	5. just say goodnight and go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu realizes that he's probably sunk in deeper than he initally thought.

"We're going to Seungkwan's and Hansol's for a movie. Are you coming?"

Mingyu tears his eyes away from his phone to look at his two roommates standing by the door.

Mingyu shakes his head, gaze shifting back to his phone. "No, I have something I need to do."

"It's like 11pm. What could you possibly have to do?"

Mingyu looks up to find Soonyoung staring at him with a suspicious squint of his eyes.

And the younger doesn't really know how to explain that he's waiting for Wonwoo's shift to almost finish so that he can go and talk to him because he's a stubborn human being that doesn't seem to know how to let go.

"Ah you know, just school stuff." Mingyu waves a hand nonchalantly and he hears both Soonyoung _and_ Seokmin laugh.

"Dude, I've seen you do _school stuff_ like twice ever since you moved in and we've lived together for like two years, so who are you trying to fool?"

"Hey!" Mingyu turns to look at his seemingly _amused_ roommates with a scowl. "I study a lot, okay? It's not my fault you guys aren't around when I do."

Soonyoung waves his had, not looking convinced at all. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I already know what you're going to do anyway but come on, man, you could've come up with a more believable excuse than that."

Soonyoung pats him on the shoulder and Mingyu glares at his back as they walk towards the door.

"Oh and-" Soonyoung turns to look at him just before he walks out. "-Wonwoo's shift is almost over so if you still want to catch him, you should probably head out now."

 

 

 

 

Mingyu pushes the door to the diner open and he's kind of relieved that he got here in time. There's not a single soul in sight but the fact that the door was unlocked and that the lights are still on indicate that there has to be someone in the back of the diner.

Mingyu hears some shuffling from the kitchen and sure enough, a few seconds later Wonwoo walks out. He still has his apron around his waist and his hair is kind of a mess but he still manages to look good after a long day of work.

Wonwoo's eyes immediately fall on Mingyu and he pulls his lips into a thin line, his face lacking any sort of emotion.

"We're closing."

Mingyu gulps at the harsh tone. "I know."

Wonwoo doesn't say anything and just grabs a broom to clean the floor. Mingyu's kind of glad he hasn't kicked him out yet.

"Wonwoo, look-"

"Why are you here, Mingyu?"

Wonwoo stops to glance at the younger and he looks exhausted. His eyes seems tired and his shoulders are slumped and Mingyu feels like an asshole because this is clearly not the right time.

But he knows he's going to regret not saying what he wants right now.

"Just listen to what I have to say for once and if after that you tell me to get lost, I swear I'll leave you alone and you'll never have to see me again."

Wonwoo stares at him without saying anything and Mingyu takes that as an indication to continue.

"Listen, I don't care what you think my _intentions_ are or whatever the hell you meant by that and when I said that I was only trying to get to know you, I wasn't lying, okay? If you don't ever want to date me, that's fine! If you don't ever want me to mention anything about us having sex again, consider it forgotten! But at least let me be your friend. That's literally all I ask."

Wonwoo stares at him and Mingyu does the same, holding his breath waiting for whatever is going to follow.

Mingyu expects Wonwoo to tell him to fuck off and kick him out but instead the older just hands him the broom and says, "Help me clean."

Wonwoo's tone is flat as he turns around to walk to the bar and Mingyu clutches the broom in his hand, pulling his brows together because Wonwoo's answer wasn't really what he was dreading but it also wasn't what he was exactly hoping for.

But then again, he didn't tell Mingyu to get lost which honestly sounds like a win to the younger.

Mingyu can feel his lips form into a goofy grin as he holds onto the broom and starts to clean the floor in a seeminly much better mood than when he walked in.

 

 

 

They clean the diner mostly in silence but much to Mingyu's surprise the tension from before seems to be gone and it kind of builds his hopes up.

Mingyu helps Wonwoo here and there and by the time they're finished it's already a bit past midnight.

Mingyu walks out the door first and Wonwoo follows shortly after him, locking up the diner.

Mingyu thinks they're gonna start walking back now and he kind of waits around for Wonwoo to take the initiative.

But instead Wonwoo surprises him by pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and taking one out, placing it between his lips.

Mingyu watches with raised eyebrows as Wonwoo proceeds to pull out a lighter and light up the cigarette.

"I didn't know you smoke." Mingyu speaks in what feels like eternity and he watches Wonwoo lean against the brick wall behind them.

"There's a lot of things that you don't know about me."

Wonwoo takes a drag, staring straight ahead and Mingyu knows it's best if he bites his tongue for once.

 _Newsflash,_ he doesn't.

"Then why won't you let me find out?"

"Mingyu-"

"No. I'm serious, Wonwoo. I meant what I said in there. I want to get to know you. _You,_ as in Jeon Wonwoo and not my one night stand buddy or whatever. And I know you feel the same way or else you would've told me to get lost when I gave you the chance to."

Wonwoo stays silent for a moment and Mingyu's getting impatient because he can't possibly take another vague answer. He wants to know where Wonwoo stands on this whole thing. Where _they_ stand.

Wonwoo's eyes search Mingyu's for a moment and the older sighs. "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

Wonwoo scratches the back of his neck, his face flushing the tiniest bit. " _You know_ , okay to everything you just said."

Mingyu can tell that Wonwoo is doing his utmost best to avoid saying what Mingyu truly wants to hear. And Mingyu would love to pester the older further but he'd really hate to ruin everything right now.

"That's good to hear." 

Mingyu can't seem to let his smile falter when Wonwoo lifts his head to stare back at him.

Wonwoo looks kind of fucking gorgeous under the poor lighting of the street lamp and Mingyu starts to wonder  _God, when was the last time someone has made me smile like this?_

"It's getting cold, we should probably start heading back now." Wonwoo says, pushing himself off the brick wall.

And Mingyu wants to say that he'd rather stand here the whole night in the cold instead of going home tonight. He'd rather sit down on the cold, hard pavement until the sun comes up and freeze his ass off.

He'd rather do all these things and so much more as long as it's with Wonwoo.

"Yeah, we probably should."

 

 

 

 

_"So,"_

Mingyu glances at Wonwoo and the younger finds himself fiddling with his fingers and he has no idea why he's getting nervous.

Wonwoo doesn't really make it easier when he looks up and starts burning holes into the side of Mingyu's face with his heavy gaze.

Mingyu can tell they've almost reached his apartment complex and realizes he's going to have to hurry if he wants to say this before they part ways.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Wonwoo shakes his head. "No. Why?"

Mingyu coughs, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck. "Uhm we are having a karaoke house party tomorrow. Nothing big though. Just us and a few friends and drinks and stuff." Mingyu is blabbering at this point and Wonwoo is looking at him in question. "Yeah, so you can come if you want. Soonyoung wants you to come too."

The thing is, Soonyoung doesn't even know Mingyu is inviting Wonwoo. All his roommate did was order him to go get drinks and some snacks. And Mingyu knows that Soonyoung would invite Wonwoo himself but he doesn't see a reason as to why he shouldn't be the one to do so instead.

Wonwoo ponders on the offer for a bit and settles on, "I'll think about it and let you guys know."

Mingyu nods and only when Wonwoo stops in his tracks does the younger realize that they've already reached his apartment.

"So I'll see you tomorrow maybe?" Mingyu offers with a hopeful tone to his voice and Wonwoo hums with a smal quirk of his lips.

"Maybe."

Mingyu bites his lip to stop himself from smiling but fails anyway when he opens his mouth to speak.

"Okay. Bye then."

Wonwoo pulls his lips into a smile.

"Goodnight, Mingyu."

And with that he turns around and leaves.

And Mingyu stands by the door, staring at Wonwoo's retreating back and realizes that he'd been smiling this entire time.

 _Great,_ he's officially fucked.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, once again I'm sorry for the long wait. I had this whole chapter all ready like a couple days ago but it all got deleted somehow so I had to rewrite everything and it's not exactly what I wanted it to be but I hope you'll still like it.
> 
> Also I made a Spotify playlist which includes all the songs used for the chapter titles. Here it is:  
> [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/u7lwjszk1dhjyyouccfhoe5m6/playlist/1Kx4Ecgiz6paaKROraNek0?si=72RAd5IaQkq9brsDGwxX3w)
> 
> I'll be updating it with every chapter that I post!
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are much much appreciated:)
> 
> p.s. i just realized how short this is holy shit, the next chapter will hopefully be longer


	6. swear to God you're beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu finds it hard not to look at Wonwoo.

Mingyu huffs and puffs as he climbs the stairs to the apartment. His fingers are numb from carrying the bags of food supplies for later that night and he's breathing as if he just ran the _fucking_ marathon. The thought of joining a gym enters his mind because he's pretty sure you're not supposed to be this tired from climbing a few stairs. 

"I'll just use the elevator next time." Mingyu decides instead because that just seems to be an easier option and he knows himself too well to know that he's probably not going to commit to it anyway.

Mingyu sets the bags down for a moment and checks his phone for any texts or missed calls and he finds himself feeling disappointed when there's none.

Wonwoo hasn't called. It's almost 8 o'clock in the afternoon and Wonwoo still hasn't called when he clearly said he'd let Mingyu know if he'd be able to make it or not. And Mingyu knows he's acting like a teenage girl waiting for her crush to text her back but _damn it_ , he's been waiting the entire day and it's starting to drive him all kinds of insane.

He slips his phone back in his pocket and shakes his head, trying to convince himself that he doesn't care.

"He doesn't even have to show up for all I care." Mingyu mumbles in a poor attempt to convince himself and lifts the bags from the ground.

He's surprised to find Hansol sitting on their couch once he steps into the apartment. He spots Seokmin bent over the tv in a very uncomfortable way, clearly struggling with setting up the karaoke stuff.

Mingyu shrugs, not really bothering with helping his roommate and turns to Hansol.

"You're here early." Mingyu comments as a form of greeting. He shoves one hand into the bag he'd be carrying and pulls out a sack of chips, throwing it in Hansol's lap.

The younger smiles gratefully and mutters a thanks. "Yeah, Seungkwan brought his girlfriend over. They're still fresh into the relationship, all lovey-dovey and shit. Didn't really want to be there for that."

Mingyu nods in understanding. He still remembers when Seokmin and his ex-girlfriend were in that phase and Mingyu had to endure painful amounts of PDA.

He shudders at the thought and moves to the kitchen where he finds Soonyoung setting up some plastic cups.

"Why can't we just use normal glasses? It's not like we're having a party." Mingyu says emptying the snacks onto the kitchen table.

Soonyoung turns around, crossing his arms. He has that expression on his face where he's about to give Mingyu a lecture and the younger is really _not_ in mood for lectures. "Do you _want_ me to remind you what happend last year when you convinced me to use our regural glasses?"

Mingyu cringes at the memory of them all getting drunk and using the glasses for playing beer pong. Long story short, Seungkwan ended up knocking the entire table over somehow. Soonyoung still hates him for it.

"Okay, I see your point."

They fall into silence and Mingyu considers asking Soonyoung whether Wonwoo had called _him_ instead. But then again he doesn't want to seem to eager. His roommates have already been pestering him about Wonwoo all the time, Mingyu would rather not give them something to feed on.

"So, who's coming tonight?" Mingyu leans against the countertop casually, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

Soonyoung shoots him an odd look as he sets up some plates. "You know, the usual."

Mingyu's itching to ask whether Wonwoo is considered to be part of the _usual_ but he decides against it and nods.

"Great."

Soonyoung eyes him weirdly, a small smirk pulling at his lips. "Why? Are you hoping to see someone in particular?"

Mingyu's eyes widen and he coughs, straightening up. "What? No, of course not. That'd be weird."

He lowers his head, not really waiting for Soonyoung's reply and walks back to the living room.

_Well, so much for acting casual._

 

 

 

"Yo, how fast do you think I can chug this down?" 

Seungcheol shakes his head at Seungkwan who's holding a bottle of beer in his hand. "I thought we were having a karaoke night. How come all we've done is drink?"

"Hey! You're the one that didn't want to sing _My Heart Will Go On_ with me!" Soonyoung shoots back at Seungcheol, his voice already louder than usual.

"I want to sing My Heart Will Go On!" Seokmin chips in with a raise of his hand.

Soonyoung shakes his head immediately, "No way, you'll just make me look bad."

Mingyu observes from the couch as the others continue bickering and he quickly realizes that he's in big need of a refill.

The kitchen is a mess and Mingyu dreads the moment he's going to be forced to partake in the clean up. He kind of hopes he'll be able to sneak into his room before Soonyoung and Seokmin notice but he knows that'll earn him an earful in the morning and Mingyu has enough to worry about already.

Mingyu sighs, pouring himself a glass of the questionable bottle of alcohol that Hansol brought along tonight which has no label, much to his concern.

He downs the glass regardless, his mind drifting back to how Wonwoo didn't even bother to let him know that he wouldn't be showing up.

It shouldn't bother him. Hell, he shouldn't even have _noticed_. But everytime the bell rings his heart does a little jump and he runs to open the door just to watch someone who's _not_ Wonwoo walk in.

God, when did he start caring this much?

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

Mingyu lifts his head and sees Jeonghan walk into the kitchen, eyeing Mingyu's cup questionably.

The younger shrugs, bringing the drink to his lips. He couldn't care less about Hansol's sketchy choice of alcohol at the moment.

"Wait, aren't you the guy that almost choked on our burger?" Jeonghan points at him with a big grin stretching over his face and Mingyu can only hope for the ground to open and swallow him whole.

 _Great._ This is what he'll be remembered for.

"Yeah, that would be me." Mingyu says with a sheepish smile, knowing that he'll probably never be able to live that event down.

"I've seen you hang out at the diner many times before but we've never properly met." Jeonghan starts, stretching out his hand.

"I'm Yoon Jeonghan. A childhood friend of Wonwoo's."

Mingyu already knew part of his name but he figures he should probably refrain from mentioning that. He'd rather not seem too creepy to a semi-stranger.

"Kim Mingyu."

Jeonghan's lips pull into a smug grin. "Oh I knew that already."

_Well, there's that._

Jeonghan goes to pour himself a drink aswell and Mingyu starts wondering whether him and Wonwoo came in together.

_Maybe he's already here._

"Been waiting for Wonwoo?" Jeonghan's voice cuts through the silence and he turns to Mingyu with a completely casual look on his face. As if he didn't just totally read into his fucking thoughts.

"Are you a psychic?" Mingyu asks blantly. "'Cause you could totally pass off as one."

Jeonghan laughs at that, shaking his head lightly.

"No. Just really good at reading people I guess."

Mingyu raises his eyebrows and Jeonghan adds, "And Soonyoung told me that you've been doing nothing but watching the door the entire night. Much like Jun."

Mingyu follows to where Jeonghan's pointing at and his eyes set on a guy that he's definitely seen a few times before. He knows he's in one of Soonyoung's classes and they've hung out a few times but they're definitely not considered close.

"He clearly only came in the hopes of seeing Wonwoo. Poor kid has had a crush on him for nearly a year now."

Mingyu's ears perk up at that and he turns to look at Jeonghan in question.

"I wouldn't wory if I were you," Jeonghan says with a sly smile once he catches Mingyu's slightly distressed expression. "I don't think Wonwoo even knows and Jun probably thinks he doesn't stand a chance. I doubt he even knows Wonwoo's gay."

Mingyu sideglances him, wondering whether he should act surprised by that revelation or not. It's not like he's in the dark about Wonwoo's sexuality but he doubts the older wants Jeonghan to know that Mingyu's aware of it.

Jeonghan inches closer to add, "Which is something I probably shouldn't be telling you but I have a feeling you already knew anyway." 

Mingyu's expression morphs into on of a shock before he breaks into a embarassed smile. 

"Uh, yeah. I kind of knew."

Jeonghan chuckles like it's the most unsurprising thing he's ever heard. "Figured so. I'm not gonna ask why or how you know but trust me, not many people know."

Mingyu's face flushes and he kind of feels special. Which is absurd because had it not been the alcohol and a college party he didn't even want to attend he probably wouldn't even be able to approach Wonwoo, let alone know such a personal thing about him. 

"But uh," Mingyu starts, a thought still lingering in his mind. "How does Jun even know Wonwoo for that long? I mean, he just moved here this semester, didn't he?"

Jeonghan nods. "Yeah but they met at last year's christmas party."

Mingyu feels like banging his head against the wall at the mention of that damned christmas party where everyone _but_ him seemed to have met Wonwoo.

"It was kind of intriguing to watch, really." Jeonghan continues with a light laugh. "Five minutes into their conversation and you could already see Jun sporting literal heart eyes."

Jeonghan leans back against the countertop, laughing as he seems to be reminiscing good old memories. But Mingyu kind of has trouble doing the same. Because as he glances back into the living room, he realises that Jun is  _crazy_ good looking. Which kind of makes Mingyu worry because he and Wonwoo already had a bit of a rough start. And even though it's safe to say that they're on pretty good terms as for now, Jun probably stands a better chance if he were to ever make a move.

"Uh, are you okay there? You look kind of distressed." Jeonghan's voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Yeah, I was just-"

Mingyu cuts his words short once he hears the doorbell ring followed by Seokmin obnoxiously demanding him to get the door.

Mingyu sighs, eyeing Jeonghan with an apologetic expression. "Duty calls." he says before he strides towards the door.

"It's probably the pizza." Soonyoung says from where he's sitting on the couch, watching the ongoing karaoke battle between Seokmin and Seungkwan that somehow has turned really agressive.

Mingyu shakes his head with a chuckle and pulls the door open, already going to check his pockets for money to pay the pizza man.

But unless the pizza man has black hair and a face that could make Mingyu melt any day, then he doubts this is a regular pizza delivery.

"You came." Mingyu says unbeknowingly, not considering the words before they leave his mouth.

"Yeah." Wonwoo breathes with a small smile, glancing down at the pizza boxes in his hands. "I was put on pizza duty."

Mingyu breaks into a smile of his own, _kind of_  relieved that Wonwoo's standing infront of him.

"Sorry I'm late." Wonwoo apologizes honestly and Mingyu steps aside to let him in.

"It's fine." Mingyu doesn't mention that it was anything _but_ fine until the older rang that doorbell.

"You didn't really miss much except for some very competitive karaoke duets between Seokmin and Seungkwan."

Wonwoo laughs, walking in and goes to greet Soonyoung first.

"Did you have to make me go all that way just for pizzas?" Wonwoo complains with a sigh and Soonyoung pouts.

"You know they're my favorite."

Mingyu makes eye contact with Soonyoung and by the smirk on the other's face he realizes that his roommate knew about Mingyu's distress the entire night.

Wonwoo rolls his eyes with a shake of his head and proceeds to glance around the room.

"Oh, Jun's here too?"

Said guy lifts his head at the mention of his name and Mingyu thinks he understands what Jeonghan meant by _heart eyes_.

Jun all but stumbles over his own feet as he rushes towards them to greet Wonwoo.

"Hey." Jun breathes, his eyes gleaming as he stares at Wonwoo.

Mingyu concludes that Wonwoo has to be incredibly oblivious to not notice Jun's crush. Either that or he's just good at acting as if he doesn't know.

"Jun, hi. I didn't know you'd be here." Wonwoo offers what can hardly be considered as a smile but it makes Jun eyes widen the size of tennis balls and a huge smile break out on his face.

_Holy shit, the dude's in love._

"Yeah, I-"

"Wonwoo, my man!" Seungcheol throws an arm around Wonwoo's shoulder, seemingly a less sober than when Mingyu last saw him. "Come on, I finally need to introduce you to Jihoon! He's, like, _abnormally_ short!"

_"I heard that!"_

Seongcheol mumbles something about Jihoon having big ears and pulls Wonwoo towards the others.

"It was good seeing you again." Wonwoo calls out to Jun. 

Mingyu doesn't miss how the older's eyes linger on him for a moment before he's being pulled away. It makes Mingyu's skin crawl and he's trying not to think to much of it.

_I don't care, I don't care, I don't care._

Mingyu shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts, turning back to look at Jun who's spotting a very obvious blush on his entire face. 

"You okay there?"

"Huh?" Jun's head snaps in Mingyu's direction. "Uh yeah, I'm fine. Just _peachy_."

Mingyu cringes because Jun's flustered face indicates that he's anything _but_ peachy _._ However, he decides not to dwell on it. It's not like Jun's going to confess his crush to him.

"Uh, you guys aren't dating or anything? Right?"

Mingyu's eyes widen at Jun's question and he snaps his head so fast in the other's direction that he's pretty sure he pulls some muscle.

" _What?_ "

Jun raises his eyebrows at Mingyu's reaction and shrugs. "I don't know. I saw you guys talking at the party and thought maybe you've hit it off."

Jun's definitely more observant than Mingyu had imagined. And quite smart too. The thing is, Wonwoo and Mingyu aren't a thing. Not even close. Mingyu still had his doubts about them being friends, let alone them dating.

"Oh. No we're not."

Jun's entire face relaxes and he let's out a sigh in relief. "Ah, that's good." And then his eyes shift to Wonwoo who's talking to Jeonghan on the other side of the room. "But I doubt he'd ever be into me." Jun's eyebrows are furrowed as he turns to look at Mingyu.

"He always looks so indifferent, you know?"

_Tell me about it._

Jun sighs and brings one hand to Mingyu's shoulder. "Well, I gotta go make sure Minghao doesn't get drunk out of his mind 'cause I have no idea how I'm supposed to get him back home later."

Mingyu nods, not even knowing that Jun and Minghao have been roommates up until this moment. Judging by the fact that they show up together almost everywhere, he probably should've figured it out.

"I'll see you around."

 

 

It's a bit past 2am when Mingyu notices Wonwoo's absence.

Nearly everyone is too drunk to function at this point while Seungkwan and Seokmin are still very much engaged in a heated singing competition. Hansol drunkenly cheers them on every now and then from where he's sprawled out on the couch and Jun is trying to drag a wasted Minghao through the door.

Mingyu glances around the room and his eyes fall on the open window that leads to the fire escape. He can see a figure sitting outside and it doesn't take him long to realize who it is.

Mingyu's feet drag him there on their own and soon he's crawling through the open window.

"I thought you might've gone home."

Wonwoo's head snaps up at the sound of Mingyu's voice and he eyes the younger for a moment.

"No. Just went out for a smoke." Wonwoo holds up a packet of cigarettes, his gaze still not leaving Mingyu.

The younger takes that as a sign to seat himself in the cramped space next to Wonwoo.

Mingyu looks out infront of him and let's out a breath. It's nice at this time of the night. The apartment is high enough to provide a decent view and sure, it's pretty cold but the sight makes up for it.

Mingyu sneaks a glance at Wonwoo just as the older brings a cigarette to his lips. Hollowing his cheeks, he takes a long drag, his eyes fluttering shut. The smoke seeps trough from between Wonwoo's lips and Mingyu has this sudden urge to chase it back into Wonwoo's mouth.

"You know, I never did one of those." Mingyu points out to distract himself, nodding his head at the pack of cigarettes.

Wonwoo opens one eye, glancing sideways at Mingyu.

"You mean you've never smoked before?" Wonwoo questions, his voice somehow sounding hoarser than usual to Mingyu's ears.

Mingyu nods with a hum.

"That's good." Wonwoo says so monotonously that if Mingyu didn't know any better, he'd think the older had absolutely no interest in this conversation.

_Maybe he doesn't._

"Well, they say there's a first time for everything, right?" Mingyu, with a new sense of determination, leans over Wonwoo's frame to pull out a cigarette.

"Might as well try one right now-"

Wonwoo grabs Mingyu's wrist to stop him and pushes his hand back.

"Not gonna happen."

Mingyu tries not to focus too much on the feeling of Wonwoo's hand wrapped around his own and the tingling sensation that's left on his skin when the older lets it go.

"Come on, you're not my mom." Mingyu pouts out of habit even though Wonwoo's not even looking in his direction.

"Go buy your own if you want to smoke one so badly." Wonwoo's reply comes fast and Mingyu wonders whether the older says that because he doesn't want him to develop a smoking habit or if he's just being stingy.

Mingyu grimaces, "You're grumpier than usual." 

He inches closer to Wonwoo just because he feels like it and the latter does nothing to move away.

"And you're a pain in the ass." Wonwoo lets out an exasperated sigh and it makes Mingyu let out a laugh.

Wonwoo turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"You trying to act as if you don't thoroughly enjoy my company."

Wonwoo raises his eyebrows at Mingyu's statement. "What makes you think I do?"

Mingyu shrugs, leaning his arms back. "I don't know. I just have a hunch that you do."

Mingyu glances at Wonwoo as the older snorts.

"Bold of you to assume that." Wonwoo states and Mingyu chuckles because he knows he's right. Maybe it is a bit bold of him to assume that Wonwoo necessarily _likes_ having Mingyu around but he certainly doesn't _hate_ it. 

"You'll realize it soon enough." Mingyu says very silently, he doubts Wonwoo even hears. And if he does, he doesn't say anything.

They fall into silence and only now does Mingyu realize that it's actually freezing. A cold wind blows and he crosses his arms, suddenly missing his hometown. Winters always seemed to be warmer there. Maybe it was because of his father's tendency to always turn the heating on or because of his mother's warm meals. Whatever it was, Mingyu misses it. 

Glancing at Wonwoo, Mingyu wonders whether the older also misses his hometown.

"Tell me honestly, do you like it here?"

Wonwoo lifts his head to look at the younger and nods slowly, looking down at his fingers. "Yeah, I do actually." He glances at Mingyu and asks, "What about you? Do _you_ like it here?"

Mingyu shrugs. "Yeah, I mean I do. It's great." he pauses for a moment glancing down at his worn out sneakers that his mother had gotten him for christmas last year. "But I tend to miss my parents and my little brother, even though he can be a brat at times." Mingyu chuckles to himself thinking about the 12 year old rascal back at home who he misses greatly regardless of the fact that he can be a pain in the ass most of the time. 

Wonwoo let's out a small laugh, a genuine one. He's been doing that a lot lately, Mingyu realizes. And Mingyu may or may not be getting used to it.

"What about you? Got any siblings?" Mingyu asks, trying to ignore the urge to say something utterly stupid just so he can get Wonwoo to laugh again. It dawns on him that he doesn't even know Wonwoo that well. And there's just so many things that he wants to know.

Wonwoo pauses a bit before answering, eyes focusing somewhere in the distance, but a smile appears on his face when he answers.

"Yeah, a sister. She's seven."

Mingyu thinks his heart melts right then and there at the sight of Wonwoo smiling like _that_. It's gorgeous, really. Seeing Wonwoo so happy at the mention of his little sister.

"Let me guess, you've got a soft spot for her?"

Wonwoo chuckles, glancing sideways at Mingyu. "Is it that obvious?"

Mingyu wants to say that it's basically written all over his face.

"You're not really doing a good job at hiding it." Mingyu replies instead, biting his lip to hold back a smile which seems impossible at the moment.

Wonwoo's eyes drift away once more and he doesn't bother clenching his jaw to fight back the smile, like he usually does.

"I love her more than anything in the world."

Mingyu gulps, feeling his stomach turn in an odd way as his eyes bore into the side of Wonwoo's face. Wonwoo's right there next to him but somehow he seems so out of reach.

He observes Wonwoo's face, a blade nose and burrowed cheekbones, his appearance only to die for. Mingyu can't help to notice leathery black strands flopping over his face which to his distaste is veiling some of his enticing features. So gorgeous, yet so frustrating that he'll only ever get to watch Wonwoo like this.

But Mingyu wants so much more.

He wants to brush Wonwoo's hair out of his face and maybe do all those disgustingly cheesy things that he's hated his entire life. He wants to listen to Wonwoo talk about his little sister for hours, if that's what it gets to see him smile like that.

Mingyu just wants _him_ , damn it.

"Tell me about her."

And Wonwoo does. He talks more than he ever has and Mingyu listens eagerly because hearing Wonwoo speak has somehow become his favorite thing to do.

They sit there on the fire escape, until the air turns even colder and Mingyu thinks he hears the long lasting karaoke battle inside come to an end. He's hardly fazed though and he watches Wonwoo talk, the older's smile growing bigger and it's beautiful. So _goddamn_ beautiful.

Wonwoo is  _beautiful_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm alive surprisingly! I really struggled with finishing this chapter for some reason and it still didn't come out like I initially wanted it too. I still hope you enjoy it though. I'll try to update more regurarly from now on!
> 
> Also I made a Spotify playlist which includes all the songs used for the chapter titles. Here it is:  
> [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/u7lwjszk1dhjyyouccfhoe5m6/playlist/1Kx4Ecgiz6paaKROraNek0?si=72RAd5IaQkq9brsDGwxX3w)
> 
> I'll be updating it with every chapter that I post!
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are much much appreciated:)


	7. with my feelings on fire, guess i'm a bad liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mingyu's a bit too obvious.

Mingyu feels like dying when his alarm starts ringing next to his ear, way too early for his taste. The regret of going to bed so late when he knew he had an early class the next morning is instant. But he's quickly reminded of the reason he stayed up so late in the first place and he figures it might not have been that bad after all.

Mingyu wonders whether Wonwoo is also as tired as him. He hopes the older doesn't have an early shift today.

Mingyu, eventually, drags himself out of the comfort of his bed and goes downstairs for a much needed cup of coffee. Or maybe three of those.

Soonyoung's already in the kitchen, small containers of food and sandwiches stacked infront of him and before Mingyu has the chance to question him about it, the older looks up at him, a smirk already evident on his face.

"You're up early." Soonyoung's voice laced with _something_ but Mingyu's too sleep deprived to figure it out.

"I have an early class." Mingyu mumbles, rubbing his eyes and blindly reaches for a cup.

"Maybe you should refrain from having long ass convos until ungodly hours of the night if you know you have an early class the next morning."

Mingyu does note the sneaky comment this time and turns to look at Soonyoung with an irritated expression.

"Cut me some slack, will you?"

Soonyoung snickers and Mingyu has zero energy to deal with this right now.

"Have a good talk?" Soonyoung teases further and _god, it's too early for this._

Mingyu turns around sharply to glare at Soonyoung's stupid, annoying face. "As a matter of fact, yes, it was a great talk. You can shut up now."

"Never."

Mingyu rolls his eyes and watches with furrowed eyebrows as Soonyoung starts placing all the containers of food in a large bag.

"What's that for?"

Soonyoung's face breaks into a sly grin- Mingyu already regrets asking.

"I have a date."

The younger raises an eyebrow and chuckles. "What? Like a picnic date?"

Soonyoung finishes packing the bag. "Yep. We're going to the beach."

Mingyu's expression morphs into one of confusion and he looks outside the window as if to confirm that yes, it's indeed fucking _freezing_ out.

"Dude, it's like crazy cold out."

"So? Everyone likes going to the beach. My date was thrilled by the idea. Plus, I'll have an excuse to wrap my jacket around her and maybe if I'm lucky, she'll cuddle up to me."

Mingyu scrunches his nose. " _Gross._ And cheesy. But mostly gross."

Soonyoung shrugs, clearly unbothered. "Whatever. At least I'm not scared to ask my crush on a date."

Mingyu _knows_  that the comment is directed at him, however he's not sure he wants to confront himself on the word _crush_ just yet.

Is it even a crush? 

It probably isn't.

 _Right?_  

 

 

 

Mingyu pushes the door to the diner open, his hands getting clammy all of the sudden.

Why is he getting nervous?

He shakes his head wanting to clear his thoughts and looks around, almost immediately spotting Jeonghan behind the bar. Mingyu pretty quickly realizes that Wonwoo's probably not covering this shift, and he's not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.

Maybe he should just go home, this is stupid anyway. Yeah, he should just-

And Jeonghan's staring at him. _Great_.

_Oh God, he's waving._

"Well, can't leave now." Mingyu mumbles to himself, doing his best at smiling- which comes out forced more than anything.

Jeonghan waves him over with a smile on his face and Mingyu has no choice but to walk over to him.

"Jeonghan, hey."

"Wonwoo is not here. He's on the late shift today." Jeonghan says before anything else and- _oh no,_  Mingyu probably looks extremely desperate and now he feels the urge to come up with an excuse.

"Uh, I'm not here for Wonwoo." Mingyu lies straight through his teeth and he can only guess that he's a terrible, terrible liar- if the look of disbelief on Jeonghan's face is any indication.

"Are you sure?" Jeonghan's eyebrow is raised and Mingyu knows deep in his soul that he's being an idiot but he hopes that somehow he can still convince the other that he's not helplessly running after his crush- who's definitely _not_ his crush. Mingyu's just intrigued by Wonwoo, is all.

"You know, that nod is anything but convincing." Jeonghan has halted the process of cleaning the countertop to stare at Mingyu as if he's gone crazy and the latter realizes he's been frantically nodding his head to the other's question.

Mingyu clears his throat." It's true though, I uh, I came to eat."

Somehow, Jeonghan looks even less convinced.

A few long seconds of Jeonghan closely observing Mingyu's face go by until the older sighs and leans forward. "Look, do us all a favor and come back after 6, that's when Wonwoo's shift starts."

Mingyu opens his mouth to protest- Jeonghan quickly waves him off, however, urging him to _go before I get mad._

 

 

 

 

And not surprisingly at all, after dwelling on it for five hours, Mingyu does go back to the diner at around 11. He's embarassed to admit that it took him so many hours to actually muster up the courage and do something that he knows he'd end up doing anyway.

And it's confusing Mingyu in all kinds possible. He's been nothing but an overly confident individual ever since he can remember- even when it comes to his crushes.

No, scratch that. 

 _Especially_ when it comes to his crushes.

So why has Mingyu's palm been holding the door handle to the diner for the past eight _fucking_ minutes.

He knows he's being overdramatic. It's not like Wonwoo is going to kick him out after, what Mingyu likes to refer to, their little bonding session the other night.

Or is he?

Fuck, is Wonwoo going to kick him out? That'll just humiliate-

The door opens abrubtly and Mingyu stumbles back after it hits him right in the face.

He lets out a surprised noise, bringing a hand to rub at the already forming bump on his forehead and opens his eyes to see Wonwoo holding the door handle from the inside.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Mingyu grunts, the pain on his forehead intesifying. "An _are you okay_ , or _sorry for almost giving you a concussion_ would also be appreciated."

Wonwoo doesn't look the slightest apologetic when he says, "I saw a shadow lingering by the door for an alarming amount of time, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Uh, I don't know, how about you just don't hit the fucking door in random peoples faces?"

Wonwoo shrugs. "Not my fault you looked suspicious."

Mingyu groans when he touches the angry forming bump.

"Does it hurt?" Wonwoo asks, leaning closer to take a better look and Mingyu tries to ignore the way he can smell Wonwoo's scent from where he's standing.

He coughs taking a step back. "Well, what do you _think_?" he spits back ignoring the heat in his face.

"I think you'd better put some ice on that. Come on." 

 

 

 

 

"Okay, _ouch_." 

"Will you sit still?" Wonwoo demands holding a frozen bag of peas against Mingyu's forehead.

"Don't you have actual ice instead of a bag of peas?" Mingyu complains, adjusting himself on the stool- thus earning himself an annoyed look from Wonwoo.

"Why? Have a bad relationship with peas?"

"I didn't particularly enjoy being forced to eat them as a kid." Mingyu says trying his best to ignore that Wonwoo's basically standing in between his legs- but it's not the easiest thing to ignore, okay?

He's close, _so close._ And _god,_ Mingyu could easily be doing this himself but Wonwoo looks like he was made to hold a frozen bag of peas against Mingyu's forehead and who is Mingyu to tell him otherwise?

"Well nobody is forcing you to eat them now so stop complaining and sit still."

Wonwoo's moving closer- not even realizing he is but Mingyu is so _aware_ of everything the other does. He's aware of how close Wonwoo's face actually is and he's aware of slender fingers holding his head in place and  _fuck_ , Mingyu is unable to look away.

"Wonwoo."

Said boy hums in reply, adjusting the frozen bag. "What?"

"Do you wanna go to the beach?" Mingyu blurts out, seemingly out of nowhere.

Wonwoo's gaze immediately drops to look at Mingyu and as if only realizing now how close to the other he's moved, Wonwoo takes a step back.

_"What?"_

Wonwoo's expression twists into one of confusion and Mingyu's suddenly self conscious about his proposition. _Hell_ , he found a crazy idea himself this morning. But Soonyoung said everyone likes going to the beach, right?

Mingyu feels his ears burn. "You know, the _beach?_ The one that consists of sea and sand?"

"Yeah I know what a beach is, you idiot. My question is why would you want to go to the beach in this weather?"

Wonwoo is holding the frozen bag of peas by his side now and Mingyu can see it slowly de-freezing and it's making him anxious. Wonwoo is throwing questions at him for which Mingyu has no excuses because this all came out of fucking _nowhere_ and Mingyu was _not_ prepared.

"I, uh, I want to see the seagulls," Wonwoo raises an eyebrow and Mingyu panics, "I mean, I have a project... on seagulls? That's why I want to see them, yes."

"Aren't you a psychology major? What do seagulls have to do with psychology?"

_Fuck fuck fuck._

Mingyu leans back against the counter and crosses his arms, trying to seem casual. "It's a psychology thing, you wouldn't understand."

He knows his face probably gives this whole ridiculous lie away and of course Wonwoo doesn't seem the slightest bit convinced but he thankfully drops the questions, much to Mingyu's delight.

"Why would you want me there, though?"

Mingyu concludes then that Wonwoo is probably _really_ fucking dense because Mingyu is so painfully obvious.

"Uh, no one can drive me there and Soonyoung told me you have a car. You think you could drive me there?" Mingyu says, quickly adding, "I really need to see the seagulls."

Mingyu can already feel karma biting him in the ass for all the lying he's done today but at the moment all he can hope for is that Wonwoo doesn't see through his bullshit lies.

"Okay, sure." Wonwoo agrees and Mingyu can finally breathe. 

"He's weirdly obsessed with seagulls." Wonwoo mumbles under his breath as he puts the frozen bag away and Mingyu brings a hand to rub at his eyes wondering how much more a fool he can make out of himself.

_Time can only tell, I guess._

 

 

 

 

Mingyu is  _freaking out_ when he walks outside and sees a parked outside, none other than Wonwoo sitting behind the wheel.

Mingyu was fine this morning. Even when Soonyoung wiggled his eyebrows and made snarky comments, Mingyu was _fine._

But now? Not so much.

Now that he can see Wonwoo and he realizes that he actually has to physically drag himself to the car and interact with a person that thinks he has a weird obsession with seagulls- Mingyu's _freaking_ out, alright.

Mingyu takes a deep breath and finally walks over to the car.

He knocks on the window, just because he can, and opens the door.

"Hey." Mingyu breathes with a small smile.

"You were standing there so long, I thought you'd never actually walk up to the car." is Wonwoo's form of greeting and Mingyu instantly feels heat creep up his neck because _oh God, he saw._

"I was just- I was trying to get used to the change in temperature." Mingyu blurts out, trying not to lose the little bit of dignity he has left as he steps into the passenger's seat.

"Right."

Mingyu doesn't have the courage to even look at Wonwoo when the latter starts the car and pulls onto the road.

They're silent for most part of the ride and Mingyu's racking his brain for something to say that's not going to make him look like a seagull-obsessing weirdo who's also oversensitive to the weather, apparently. 

"Are you going home for Christmas?"

"Mingyu, we still have, like, two months 'till Christmas." Wonwoo deadpans.

 _Right_.

"Can't hurt to be prepared, you know?" Mingyu laughs. Wonwoo, on the other hand, doesn't look too impressed.

_Not the best ice-breaker, Mingyu._

"Well, to answer your question. I don't know." A pause, and then- "Probably not."

"Really?" Mingyu expresses his surprise out loud. "I thought you'd want to see your little sister."

Wonwoo's eyes are focused solely on the road when he answers. "Seeing my sister means I'll also have to see someone I'd rather avoid right now."

Wonwoo's tone is sharp, leaving no room for further questions and Mingyu is certainly not stupid enough to press on the matter.

"When was the last time you saw her? Your sister, I mean." Mingyu tries changing the subject, remembering how Wonwoo had smiled when she was brought up.

"Like two months ago." Wonwoo says before adding, "We talk often though. She's always begging my mom to face time me. Even stole her phone once and tried calling on her own and all." 

Wonwoo chuckles, his shoulders loosening up and Mingyu's glad.

"That's cute. My brother doesn't even pause his games to come see me when I visit."

"I don't blame the kid." Wonwoo teases but Mingyu can't even bring himself to be offended because Wonwoo's smiling and  _God,_ the sight sure as hell is worth every snarky remark thrown his way.

 

 

 

 

 

"So what is it that you need to do exactly?" Wonwoo shouts from where he's standing a few feet away and throws a rock into the sea, causing a couple seagulls to fly off.

"You're scaring them away!" Mingyu yells back. "And I already told you-"

" _Yeah yeah_ , it's a psychology thing, I wouldn't understand. I get it." Wonwoo says which doesn't convince Mingyu at all because this is the third time the older's asking.

Mingyu continues observing the seagulls and not even a minute later- 

"You know, I'm really starting to doubt your choice of education."

"You know what?" Mingyu starts, kneeling down and dropping himself onto the sand. "I'm done."

Mingyu can see the other raising an eyebrow from where he's standing. "You're _done?_ That was it?"

"Yep."

"All you had to do was look at them?"

"I made mental notes. That's what psychology is all about."

Mingyu figures that Wonwoo probably thinks he is a major weirdo and at this point he wonders how the older hasn't made a run for it yet.

"Okay." Wonwoo says, walks over to where Mingyu is and sits down beside him. "I'm sure you'll get a great mark on that project."

Mingyu brings his knees to his chest and shivers at the cold wind because he was stupid enough to get his jacket drenched when trying to shoo away an angry looking seagull- Wonwoo sure got a good laugh out of it.

"I doubt it. I don't think the teacher likes me."

"Maybe if you actually spent time studying instead of obsessing over seagulls, you wouldn't be facing such problems." Wonwoo says, his tone light and playful, and Mingyu wishes it'd always be like that.

"Hey, I'm not obsessing over seagulls, okay? I barely even like them. It's just for the-"

" _Project?_ Yeah, we both know you could've come up with something better than that."

Mingyu freezes then, wondering whether his ears are playing tricks on him.

_Shit shit shit._

He knows Mingyu's been lying this entire time?

Oh my God, _he knows._

"What?"

"Come on, seagulls, really? I'm not that dense, Mingyu." Wonwoo adds, as a matter of fact, and Mingyu really wishes the other was dense enough to fall for his terrible lies.

"You're not?" Mingyu feels his whole face burn and holy shit, he's so, so _incerdibly_ embarassed.

"I mean, you don't even know Jun has a crush on you. You must be pretty dense then." Mingyu blurts out in a poor attempt to save himself some embarassment, even though he kind of feels like an asshole for bringing Jun down with him. 

Wonwoo laughs, "You think I didn't know? He's been pretty obvious about it. It's practically hard _not_ to notice."

That is in no way comforting Mingyu and he wishes to be burried under the sand and stay there forever.

Then Wonwoo says something that has Mingyu's breath hitching and his stomach twisting.

"Plus, I tend to notice when someone has a crush on me."

Mingyu's _fucked_. Oh, he's royally fucked.

"You do?"

Wonwoo pulls his jacket off and reaches out to hand it over to Mingyu.

"Yeah," Wonwoo glances sideways at him and Mingyu, once again, forgets how to breath.

"I do." 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while!  
> I'm sorry it took me so long since I last updated. This may seem a bit rushed but I really tried getting this done today. It's currently 4am so there may some errors. I apologize for those beforehand.  
> I still hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Here's the Spotify playlist which includes all the songs used for the chapter titles. Here it is:  
> [Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/user/u7lwjszk1dhjyyouccfhoe5m6/playlist/1Kx4Ecgiz6paaKROraNek0?si=72RAd5IaQkq9brsDGwxX3w)
> 
> I'll be updating it with every chapter that I post!
> 
> Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are much much appreciated:)


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